Mark Pickens Ohio Death Row

mark pickens

Mark Pickens was sentenced to death by the State of Ohio for a triple murder. According to court documents the victim reported to police that she had been sexually assaulted by Mark Pickens. Pickens would go to the woman’s house and murder her and her two young children. Mark Pickens would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death.

Ohio Death Row Inmate List

Mark Pickens 2021 Information

Number A635147

DOB 12/05/1989

Gender Male Race Black

Admission Date 07/16/2010

Institution Chillicothe Correctional Institution

Status INCARCERATED

Mark Pickens More News

Around 10:30 a.m. on May 31, 2009, Noelle went to Pickens’s residence at Gateway Plaza Apartments in Cincinnati. About an hour and a half later, Noelle stumbled into the hallway, apparently pushed out, her pants below her hips. Noelle went to a neighboring apartment, pounded on the door, and screamed for help.

{¶ 6} Darlene Tucker lived in that apartment. Tucker testified that Noelle beat on her door, screaming, “[P]lease, help me, let me in before he gets me.” Tucker opened the door and let Noelle inside. Noelle was hysterical and said that her boyfriend had a gun and had raped her. Tucker said that Noelle’s hair was messy, she was sweating profusely, and she kept pulling up her pants around the waist. At Noelle’s behest, Tucker called 9–1–1.

{¶ 7} At 12:30 p.m., Officer Marian Jenkins of the Cincinnati police met with Noelle at Tucker’s apartment. Noelle said that she had been raped by Mark Pickens and described what happened. Noelle said she had gone to Pickens’s apartment to have sex with him. But when Pickens started acting “funny,” she decided that she did not want to have sex. Noelle told Pickens, “[N]o, no, I am not staying. I don’t want to.” Noelle said that Pickens then pulled out a gun and laid it on the bed. Noelle said that they then had sex. Afterwards, Pickens left the building but Noelle did not know where he went. Noelle was then transported to the police department.

{¶ 8} At 1:20 p.m. on May 31, Detectives Chris Schroder and Stephanie Broxterman conducted an audio-taped interview of Noelle. Noelle stated that she went to Pickens’s apartment at his invitation. According to Noelle, they talked at first and then started wrestling around. But he started playing rough and she told him to stop. Noelle told Pickens that she was going to leave, and Pickens told her, “I was fixing to get some pussy.” Noelle repeated that she “didn’t want to do it” and wanted to leave. Pickens replied, “[Y]ou ain’t about to  leave. We about to do it.” Noelle said that Pickens then took a gun out of the dresser drawer and placed it on top of the dresser. He then started taking off Noelle’s clothes.

{¶ 9} Noelle stated that she told Pickens that she needed to use the bathroom. But Pickens followed Noelle there and forced her back into the bedroom. Pickens then resumed removing her clothes, got on top of her, and had vaginal sex with her. When they finished, Noelle said that Pickens “started hitting me around.” With the gun in his hand, he told Noelle, “I am going to kill us both and take us out of our misery.” {¶ 10} When Noelle told Pickens that she was calling the police, Pickens tried to take her phone from her. He pulled her hair, choked her, and punched her until he got the phone. Pickens then pushed Noelle into the hallway and continued hitting her. Noelle said that she grabbed the phone from him, thinking that it was hers, but she later discovered that she had taken Pickens’s phone.

{¶ 11} Noelle stated that she and Pickens had exchanged text messages since the rape. Noelle said that Pickens asked her why she had called the police and asked her if she was “going to try to set [him] up.” Noelle also said that Pickens’s mother had called her after the rape and told her that Pickens knew that Noelle had been with the police.

{¶ 12} During follow-up questioning, Noelle said that Pickens had hit her approximately 25 times and struck her in the face three times. Noelle said that she had been wearing only a t-shirt when she was pushed into the hallway, and she got dressed inside the neighbor’s apartment.

{¶ 13} During the interview, Noelle agreed to call Pickens and confront him about the rape. During the recorded phone call, Noelle confronted Pickens and asked, “Why did you have sex with me when you know that I didn’t want you to?” Pickens responded, “I didn’t have sex with you.” Despite continued accusations, Pickens said repeatedly that he had not had sex with Noelle or hit her. During the conversation, Pickens said, “You * * * put a warrant out on me.” Noelle replied, “No, they wanted me to talk to them but I didn’t. I love you.” But Pickens said, “You was talking to them. You told them everything.”

{¶ 14} Following the police interview, Noelle went to the hospital for a rape exam. Kathleen Ferrara, a sexual-assault nurse examiner, examined Noelle. Noelle told Ferrara that she went to Pickens’s apartment because he owed her money. Noelle said that Pickens started playing rough and insisted on having sex. Noelle told him that she did not want to have sex, and he started hitting and choking her. Noelle said, “I closed my legs together, but he pried them open. I was crying, telling him to stop.” He then started “doing it” to her. {¶ 15} Ferrara’s examination showed that Noelle’s lip was swollen and she had a bite mark on the right upper lip. There were also lacerations on her neck that were consistent with scratching. Ferrara also observed a laceration and bite mark on Noelle’s chest, a laceration on her shoulder, a bite mark on her right thigh, and bruises on her left inner calf and left knee. Ferrara testified that these were fresh injuries that were consistent with Noelle’s statement that Pickens had pried her legs open. Noelle suffered a laceration to her right inner labia that was approximately three centimeters long and a laceration to the left inner labia that was approximately two centimeters in length. Ferrara testified that these injuries were “consistent with someone that is not * * * having consensual sex.”

{¶ 16} At 10:44 a.m. on June 1, 2009, Schroder and Broxterman went to Pickens’s apartment to question him. Schroder knocked on Pickens’s door and received no answer. Schroder then wrote “please call me” on the back of a business card and left the card in the door.

C. Events between Noelle’s rape and her murder

{¶ 17} Crystal Lewis, Noelle’s friend and Sha’railyn Wright’s mother, testified that on the afternoon of May 31, she talked to Noelle on the phone. Noelle said that she was at the hospital because “Mark raped me” and “hit me” and left “marks  and bruises all over my body.” Noelle also thought that Pickens had her house keys because she left them at his apartment.

{¶ 18} Gwendolyn Washington, Noelle’s mother, testified that on the afternoon of May 31, she was with her son, Derrick Lee. During that time, she received a text message from Noelle’s phone stating, “This MARK I DO NOT WANNA BE WIT YO DAUGHTER.” Derrick testified that on that same afternoon, Noelle called him. Noelle was crying and kept repeating that “he raped me.” Noelle also talked to her mother and told her that Pickens had raped her and that she was at the hospital.

{¶ 19} Tamika Washington, Noelle’s sister, testified that on May 31, Noelle called screaming, “[H]e beat me up, he beat me up,” and hung up. Tamika then called Noelle’s phone number, and a male answered. He stated, “You fat bitch, quit calling the phone,” and hung up. At that point, Tamika started sending text messages to that phone number. Tamika testified that one of the return text messages stated, “Noelle was only good for sucking his dick, he didn’t care about her, the only thing she did after he hurt her feelings she would run to me and cry to me.” Tamika then called him and said, “You are going to jail, you are going to jail.” He responded, “That’s okay, because if I go to jail, then I am going to fuck her up.” He then hung up. {¶ 20} Jonda Palmer, a girlfriend of Pickens, testified that around 5:00 p.m. on May 31, Pickens came to her home. Pickens said that someone had accused him of rape, and he was angry. Pickens then asked Palmer if she would join with some other girls to beat up his accuser. Palmer refused. Palmer testified that when she gave Pickens a hug, she felt an object around his waist. She lifted up his shirt and saw a gun in his waistband. Palmer testified that after he left, they exchanged text messages, and Pickens said, “I feel like killing someone.”

D. Noelle, Sha’railyn, and Anthony murdered

{¶ 21} Tanisha Scott, Noelle’s cousin, testified that on the afternoon of June 1, 2009, she went to Noelle’s home, and Noelle, Anthony, and Sha’railyn were there. Noelle told Tanisha that Pickens had raped her and that she was afraid of him. She could not find her keys and said that Pickens had them. Tanisha left around 8:00 or 9:00 p.m.

{¶ 22} Ronell Harris, an acquaintance of Noelle, testified that at 11:40 p.m. on June 1, he saw Noelle talking to a man outside the building where she lived. Harris asked Noelle if everything was all right, because he had never seen Noelle outside so late. Noelle said everything was fine. Harris also asked where her children were, and she said that they were upstairs. Before leaving, Harris told Noelle, “[I]f you need me, just call me.” Harris testified that he later saw Pickens’s photo on TV and recognized him as the man who had been talking to Noelle.

{¶ 23} Cynthia Evans testified that on the evening of June 1, she was visiting a friend outside a church across the street from Noelle’s apartment building. Evans stated that she saw a woman with a baby arguing with a man across the street. Although Evans could not hear their conversation, she saw that the woman was crying and wiping her eyes, and the man was animated and looked mad. Evans saw them enter the apartment building. Evans testified that she heard loud music and later heard “two pops; boom, boom” and then “another pop, pop.” She then heard “another pop, pop,” and her friend said, “that’s gunfire, Cindy.” Evans stated that the music stopped, and it became quiet. {¶ 24} Evans testified that shortly thereafter, a woman came down the street and entered the apartment. She then came outside and screamed, “[M]y baby, my baby.” Evans asked the woman what was the matter, and she said that her baby was not breathing. Evans called 9–1–1, entered the apartment, and found that Noelle and the two children were dead.

{¶ 25} Police spoke to Lewis about the events of that evening. Lewis testified that Sha’railyn stayed at Noelle’s home. At 11:12 p.m., Noelle texted her, saying, “Bitch I jus woke up mark was comin thru the kitchen.” Lewis texted back, “Wher he at now[?]” At 11:37 p.m., Noelle texted, “He gone.” At 11:40 p.m.,  Lewis texted, “I am about to come get her i am worry.” Noelle replied, “I’m finn go back to sleep.” At 11:42 p.m., Lewis texted, “Na i dont want her to be in da middle of that.” Noelle replied, “Of wat. He gone.” At 11:44 p.m., Lewis texted, “i dont give a fuck if he is gone he can come right back n yall don’t need to be there.” At 11:48 p.m., Lewis texted, “On my way now.” At 11:49 p.m. Noelle texted, “K.” This was the last text message Lewis received from Noelle.

{¶ 26} Lewis testified that she arrived at Noelle’s building about five or ten minutes after leaving home. Lewis entered the building and found Noelle’s door halfway open. Lewis went inside Noelle’s apartment and found Noelle sitting on the couch with Anthony in her arms and a cell phone in her hand. They were both dead. When she saw her daughter on the floor, Lewis ran outside, screaming, “He killed my baby. My baby’s dead.”

{¶ 27} At 12:15 a.m. on June 2, Cincinnati police officers arrived at Noelle’s apartment. Noelle was found slumped over on the couch with a baby in her arms and a cell phone in her hand. Sha’railyn was found lying near the TV in the same room. All three victims had been shot in the head and were pronounced dead.

https://casetext.com/case/state-v-pickens-47

Kerry Perez Ohio Death Row

kerry perez

Kerry Perez was sentenced to death by the State of Ohio for a robbery murder. According to court documents Kerry Perez would enter the bar Do Drop Inn Bar and in the process of robbing it would shoot and kill the owner Ronald Johnson. Kerry Perez would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

Ohio Death Row Inmate List

Kerry Perez 2021 Information

Number A509017

DOB 07/02/1965

Gender Male Race White

Admission Date 12/13/2005

Institution Warren Correctional Institution

Status INCARCERATED

Kerry Perez More News

The Supreme Court of Ohio today affirmed the death sentence of Kerry Perez for the aggravated murder of Ronald Johnson, who was shot and killed during a March 2003 robbery of a Springfield bar and its patrons.

Perez, who admitted his role in the robbery and shooting, was found guilty of two death penalty specifications: 1) that he killed Johnson during the commission of a violent felony, (aggravated robbery) and 2) that Johnson was killed as part of a course of conduct in which Perez had earlier attempted to kill the owner of a drive-through liquor store when the owner resisted during a robbery attempt.

The Court’s 6-1 decision, authored by Justice Robert R. Cupp, overruled all 13 allegations of legal and procedural error by the trial court that were raised by Perez as grounds to overturn his murder conviction or reduce his death sentence to a term of life imprisonment.

Among the arguments rejected by the Court was a claim by defense attorneys that the trial court should not have admitted into evidence tape recordings of conversations between Perez and his wife, Debra, that were made with Debra’s consent but without her husband’s knowledge during her visits with him at the Clark County jail. Perez contended that admitting secret recordings of what he believed to be confidential communications with his spouse into evidence violated the marital-communications privilege set forth in R.C. 2945.42 and denied him due process of law.

Justice Cupp wrote: “R.C. 2945.42 provides: ‘Husband or wife shall not testify concerning a communication made by one to the other, or act done by either in the presence of the other, during coverture, unless the communication was made or act done in the known presence or hearing of a third person competent to be a witness …’  When Debra testified at trial, the prosecution did not ask her to repeat any statement by Perez … Thus, Perez’s jailhouse conversations with Debra were introduced only through the tape recordings. That circumstance requires us to answer the following question: Does R.C. 2945.42 bar only a spouse’s testimony concerning marital communications, or does it also bar the introduction of tape recordings of such communications, even where the spouse does not testify?”

“Perez contends that admitting the taped conversations was the ‘equivalent’ of allowing Debra to testify to the content of the conversations and was thus equally impermissible under R.C. 2945.42. But R.C. 2945.42 specifies that a ‘[h]usband or wife shall not testify concerning a communication made by one to the other … .’  Thus, on its face, the statute does no more than preclude a spouse from testifying to the other spouse’s statements.” 

Justice Cupp noted that courts in some states have interpreted their privilege statutes broadly to bar third-parties from introducing evidence of spousal communications that was obtained from or with the help of a defendant’s collaborating spouse. However, he cited with approval a Michigan Supreme Court decision,  People v. Fischer (1993), that interpreted statutory language barring a spouse from being “examined” with respect to spousal communications to preclude in-court testimony by a spouse as a sworn witness, but not to preclude introduction of marital communications into evidence through other means.

“We agree with the Michigan Supreme Court’s analysis in Fisher,” wrote Justice Cupp. “‘In construing a statute, we may not add or delete words.’  R.C. 2945.42 states that a ‘[h]usband or wife shall not testify concerning a communication made by one to the other  …’  Like the phrase ‘be examined’ in Michigan’s statute, the word ‘testify’ in R.C. 2945.42 clearly precludes the spouse’s testimony.  Just as clearly, it does not preclude ‘introduction of the marital communication through other means.’ Our holding also accords with the fundamental principle of construing privileges narrowly. Privileges are to be construed narrowly because they impede the search for truth and contravene the principle that the public has a right to everyone’s evidence. … Because the jailhouse conversations were not introduced by way of Debra’s testimony, we hold that their admission did not violate R.C. 2945.42.”

Justice Cupp’s opinion was joined by Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer and Justices Evelyn Lundberg Stratton, Maureen O’Connor, Terrence O’Donnell and Judith Ann Lanzinger.

Justice Paul E. Pfeifer entered a separate opinion in which he concurred with the majority’s affirmance of Perez’s death sentence based on the felony murder specification; but dissented from the majority finding of guilt on the “course of conduct” death penalty specification.  “In this case,” he wrote, “the murder of Ronald Johnson occurred several months after the shooting at the Beverage Oasis. Although both incidents involved a robbery and the use of masks and guns to effect the robbery, little else binds them. One establishment was a retail store, the other a bar; one shooting was at an owner, the other of a customer; one involved Perez chasing employees, the other did not; one involved an armed victim who shot first, the other did not; even the guns used in the two crimes were different. … In short, there are no particularized facts that suggest that the first and second incidents were part of a course of conduct, especially when the eight-month gap is considered. There is no factual link  ‘of time, location, murder weapon, or cause of death.’ The course-of-conduct death specification in this case should not have been charged, should not have been presented to the jury, and should not be affirmed by this court.”

Justice Pfeifer also disagreed with the majority’s interpretation of the marital communications privilege, stating that in his view barring direct testimony by Debra Perez about her husband’s statements to her but admitting into evidence secret tape recordings she made of those same conversations “eviscerates the intent behind the privilege and is in some ways worse than the admission of testimony. If a spouse testifies, the defendant at least has a right to cross-examine.”

Gregory Osie Ohio Death Row

gregory osie

Gregory Osie was sentenced to death by the State of Ohio for a robbery murder. According to court documents Gregory Osie would break into the home of his wive’s business partner and stab the victim to death in order to cover up a theft. Gregory Osie would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death.

Ohio Death Row Inmate List

Gregory Osie 2021 Information

Number A628383

DOB 08/18/1961

Gender Male Race White

Admission Date 05/18/2010

Institution Chillicothe Correctional Institution

Status INCARCERATED

Gregory Osie More News

On February 14, 2009, appellant, Gregory C. Osie, stabbed David Williams to death in Williams’s house in Liberty Township, Butler County. Osie was tried by a three-judge panel, which found him guilty of aggravated murder with three death specifications and sentenced him to death.

{¶ 2} David Williams was a partner in a business venture called United Contractors Unlimited (“UCU”), which began in August 2008. Williams had provided $10,000 in seed money to get the business started and also served as a business mentor, providing his partners with advice on running a business. The other partners performed various jobs in the business.

{¶ 3} Williams’s partners in UCU included Robin Patterson and Nicholas Wiskur. Patterson was the office manager. Gregory Osie was Patterson’s boyfriend. Osie was not a partner in UCU but had been employed on one occasion to do a job for UCU. He was also hired occasionally to do “odds and ends type jobs” for David Williams.

{¶ 4} By February 2009, according to Nicholas Wiskur, UCU had nearly reached “the point of being defunct.” Wiskur testified that the partners held a financial meeting approximately every four weeks to go over profit-and-loss statements. At these meetings, the partners would “go over checks”; therefore, Wiskur knew that questions had been raised about certain checks.

{¶ 5} Wiskur decided to investigate one specific check: a check for $375, made out to and endorsed by Greg Osie, ostensibly signed by Robin Patterson, and dated December 26, 2008. This check had been cashed at a Marathon gas station. Because the account on which it was drawn had been closed, the check bounced. Based on his familiarity with Patterson’s signature, Wiskur concluded that the check was “obviously forged.” He called the Marathon station and discussed the matter with the owner. Wiskur subsequently discussed the matter with Williams.

The Events of February 13–14, 2009

{¶ 6} On February 13, 2009, between approximately 8:30 and 9:00 a.m., Wiskur went to Williams’s house. Williams was not home, so Wiskur phoned him, then decided to await Williams’s return.

{¶ 7} Before Williams arrived, Osie phoned Wiskur. Osie claimed that he didn’t know anything about the forged check. Wiskur informed Osie that the owner of the gas station had “unequivocally” identified Osie as the person who had cashed the check and that Osie’s act had been captured on videotape. Osie continued to deny that he had cashed the check. Wiskur told him: “It’s all going to come out, * * * if you did it or not. I guess * * * we’ll find out, and at that time, we’ll do the necessary actions * * *.”

{¶ 8} Eventually, Williams came home, and he and Wiskur discussed other matters. However, before Wiskur left, Osie phoned Williams. Wiskur was able to hear and recognize Osie’s voice on the other end of the line.

{¶ 9} Wiskur testified that the conversation was “[a]gitated and aggressive,” with “some name calling on both sides” and references to the theft of money and property. During this conversation, according to Wiskur, Williams said to Osie: “Well, you know, I just want to make this right. Robin won’t return any of my phone calls. * * * Well, I’m going to go to the police. I’m going to file charges. This needs to be taken care of.” At the end of the conversation, according to Wiskur, Williams “slam[med] the phone” down and said, “F you.”

{¶ 10} On the night of February 13–14, Tim Purvis, an acquaintance of Osie and Robin Patterson, was performing with a band at a local bar. Around 1:00 a.m., February 14, Purvis saw Patterson at the bar. Purvis finished playing at 2:00 a.m.; half an hour later, he left with Patterson. They reached Purvis’s apartment around 2:45 a.m. Patterson stayed until 9:00 a.m. She and Purvis sat and talked and had “a couple of beers.”

{¶ 11} While Patterson was at Purvis’s apartment, her phone rang between 10 and 15 times, beginning sometime between 4:00 and 5:00 a.m. Around 5:00 a.m., Purvis got a phone call from Osie, who wanted to talk to Patterson. Purvis handed Patterson his phone and went to the bathroom. He was able to hear most of the conversation, however. He described it as “a lot of arguing back and forth.”

{¶ 12} Around 5:30 or 6:00 a.m., Patterson received a text message that upset her. Purvis described her reaction: “She was very upset, pacing back and forth, crying. Just really distraught.” Purvis asked why she was upset, and she said: “Greg killed Dave.”

{¶ 13} Records of the Cincinnati Bell Telephone Company introduced at trial show that on February 14, 2009, between 3:07 a.m. and 8:45 a.m., 15 text messages were sent from phone number 513–746–1393 to phone number 513–746–8127. Cincinnati Bell records listed Osie as both subscriber and registered user for phone number 513–746–1393. Osie was also the subscriber for phone number 513–746–8127; the registered user of that phone was listed as “Robin.”

{¶ 14} At 3:07 a.m., a text from Osie’s phone to Robin’s stated: “Baby doll your dirt is ready to be over.” At 4:24 a.m., there was another text that said simply: “Job finished.” Other texts sent from Osie’s phone to Robin’s that morning included “Need help” at 4:35 a.m., “Baby talk 2 me” at 5:09 a.m., “Help please” at 5:25 a.m., “I need you i am afraid” at 7:30 a.m., and “Baby im worried please call” at 8:29 a.m.

{¶ 15} Business records of PNC Bank and United Dairy Farmers (“UDF”) show that on February 14, 2009, at 4:28 a.m., someone used David Williams’s Visa debit card to buy $27.01 worth of gasoline at the UDF in West Chester. Business records of PNC Bank and Meijer show that on February 14, 2009, at 6:24 a.m., someone tried to use the same card to make a transaction in the amount of $547.66 at the Meijer store in West Chester, but the transaction was declined for insufficient funds.

{¶ 16} At approximately 9:00 or 9:15 a.m., February 14, Donald E. Heis Sr., a mechanic at an auto body shop in West Chester, spotted a cell phone lying in pieces in the driveway of the shop as he was driving out on a wrecker call. About 15 minutes later, on his way back, Heis stopped and picked up the phone. Heis reattached the loose pieces of the phone and found that it worked. By examining the phone’s recent-call log, he obtained the phone number of Williams’s daughter, Heather Williams, and called that number to see whether she knew who owned the phone. Heis explained where he had found the phone and how he had obtained Heather’s number. Heather said, “Oh, it’s my dad’s [phone].” Heis told her that she could come by the body shop and pick it up.

{¶ 17} Heather then called two of her father’s friends and asked them to let him know where his phone was. She sent one of them to Williams’s house. There he found Williams’s body. Police were summoned, and the crime scene was processed.

The Crime Scene

{¶ 18} Williams was found lying on the living-room floor, bruised and blood-soaked. The body lay near a coffee table, where police found a wallet lying open, with business cards and various papers scattered around it. On a table by a recliner was a spillproof cup containing whiskey and a drinking straw.1 Williams’s television was missing from the entertainment center in the living room.

{¶ 19} In the kitchen, police found a set of knives in a wooden block on the counter. One knife from the set appeared to be missing, but was found in a kitchen drawer.

{¶ 20} Williams’s bedroom contained a safe, which sat atop a dresser. The safe was open, and papers and other items lay scattered on the floor in front of the dresser.

The Autopsy

{¶ 21} Dr. James Swinehart, a forensic pathologist employed by Butler County, performed an autopsy on Williams’s body on February 14. Dr. Swinehart noted that Williams had suffered “five distinct stab wounds clustered basically around the left nipple area.” Several of these wounds had perforated Williams’s left lung, collapsing it. Dr. Swinehart measured 700 cc of blood in the left chest cavity. Williams had also sustained five stab wounds to the abdomen, one of which damaged his liver and gall bladder.

{¶ 22} Finally, Williams’s throat had been slashed. Dr. Swinehart identified “two large incised wounds of the anterior neck.” The more serious of these wounds was 5 and 3/4 inches long; it penetrated Williams’s larynx with a “through and through” wound and exposed his windpipe.

{¶ 23} Dr. Swinehart concluded that Williams bled to death. Based on the temperature of Williams’s body at 8:00 p.m., February 14, Dr. Swinehart was able to estimate that Williams had died in the early morning of February 14, sometime between midnight and 4:00 or 5:00 a.m. Given the large amount of sudden blood loss, Dr. Swinehart opined that Williams would have died within 15 minutes.

{¶ 24} Finally, Dr. Swinehart had a comprehensive toxicology screen performed, which revealed that Williams had a postmortem blood-alcohol level of .160 percent.2

Osie’s Arrest and Interrogation

{¶ 25} Investigators from the Butler County Sheriff’s Office determined that Osie was a suspect. Four detectives went to his address in West Chester to talk to him. They knocked on the door of his apartment, but no one answered. As the detectives were leaving the apartment complex, they noticed a red truck in the parking lot with its headlights on. Osie drove a red truck. The truck “peeled out” in reverse. The detectives pursued the truck in their vehicles and were able to block its departure. When the driver of the red truck identified himself as Osie, the detectives handcuffed him and drove him to the stationhouse.

{¶ 26} At the station, the detectives placed Osie in an interview room, where they administered Miranda warnings and proceeded to interrogate him.

{¶ 27} Osie initially told detectives that Williams had attacked him. According to Osie, Williams accused Patterson of stealing from him and said that “he was going to go press charges against her.” Osie claimed that after he told Williams, “[Y]ou got to have proof before you do something like that,” Williams became angry. Osie said that he started to leave, whereupon Williams got out of his chair, picked up a knife and came at Osie.

{¶ 28} Osie claimed that he pushed Williams back into his chair, but Williams got up and attacked him again. Osie then grabbed Williams’s hand, “kind of turned it into him,” and stabbed Williams with the knife while Williams was holding it. In Osie’s account, Williams pulled the knife out of his body and attacked Osie yet again. The knife “went back in him again, the way that I had his hand.” Then, Osie claimed, he panicked and went home. Osie claimed that when he left, he did not even know that Williams was dead.

{¶ 29} The detectives asked Osie why he had sent Patterson a text to the effect that she didn’t “have to worry about Dave no more” if he was unaware that Williams was dead. Osie explained that this was intended “[t]o let her know that I kind of beat Dave up and stabbed him.”

{¶ 30} The detectives continued to confront Osie with inconsistencies in his story and inconsistencies between his story and the evidence. As they did so, Osie’s story changed. After admitting that he “kind of beat Dave up,” Osie denied beating Williams, admitting only that he had “punched him one time.” Osie then amended that to “[o]ne or two times maybe.” Then he claimed that he had not punched Williams with his fist, but had hit him with an open hand. Finally, he admitted punching Williams in the face.

{¶ 31} Osie initially claimed that he stabbed Williams only twice, and he denied cutting Williams’s throat. When detectives pointed out that there appeared to be four to six stab wounds, Osie said he didn’t know whether anyone else was in the house when he left, implying that someone else might have inflicted the wounds after Osie left. Osie later suggested that Williams might have inflicted some of the wounds on himself. Still later, Osie admitted stabbing Williams “probably four to five times,” but denied cutting his throat. Finally, however, Osie admitted that he cut Williams’s throat after stabbing him.

{¶ 32} Osie denied taking Williams’s cell phone or television, and he denied taking the knife from the house, claiming that he had left it in Williams’s body. He also denied removing anything from Williams’s safe.

{¶ 33} Eventually, Osie admitted that he took keys from Williams’s jacket, then went into the bedroom, opened the safe, and scattered its contents. He admitted that he took the knife with him when he left. He also admitted taking Williams’s cell phone, which he threw from his truck window on his way home, and Williams’s TV, which he took in order to make the crime look like a robbery. He claimed that he drove home, changed clothes, then drove to Cincinnati. There he discarded the TV in a dumpster, then threw the knife into the Ohio River.

{¶ 34} After this interview, Detective Melissa Gearhart learned about Williams’s tremor disorder. This called into question Osie’s claim that Williams had assaulted him with a knife, so Gearhart interviewed Osie again.

{¶ 35} In this second interview, Osie’s story was that he and Williams got into a scuffle, during which Osie punched Williams a few times. Then Osie went into the kitchen, Williams followed him, and they struggled again. During the second struggle, Osie grabbed a knife. Williams backed away from Osie into the living room. There, Osie stabbed Williams in the chest. Williams fell to the floor, and Osie stabbed him a few more times. Then, motivated by anger, he cut Williams’s throat, but only once.

Osie’s Statements to His Cellmate

{¶ 36} Donald D. Simpson Jr., an acquaintance of Osie’s, was Osie’s cellmate in the Butler County Jail from February 15, 2009, until Simpson’s release in April 2009. A “couple of weeks” after moving in, Osie began to discuss his case with Simpson. During that time, according to Simpson, the two talked about Osie’s case “pretty much every day” until Simpson’s release, because “that’s all [Osie] pretty much had to do.”

{¶ 37} Osie told Simpson that he had been charged with the murder of David Williams, and “it all stimulated [sic] over Greg’s girlfriend, Robin Patterson.” Simpson testified: “Greg had told me that David Williams was pressing charges on Robin Patterson for stealing around $18,000.” Osie told Simpson that Patterson had used payroll checks to steal the money and that she asked him to persuade Williams not to press charges.

{¶ 38} According to Simpson, Osie also gave him an account of Williams’s murder. Osie told Simpson that before he went to Williams’s house, he and Patterson had spent all day getting high on cocaine. Osie told Simpson that he arrived at Williams’s house around 1:30 or 2:00 a.m. Osie began by trying to talk Williams out of pressing charges. But during the conversation, Williams indicated his intention to press charges against Osie for the check cashed at the Marathon station. At that point, Osie told Simpson,

the conversation had got heated and * * * he had punched Dave, and then it just happened that, I mean before he knew it, he had got the knife and stabbed him. He had stabbed him like four or five times in the chest, and that then when he was laying there, that he freaked out, and so he had rushed down and took the knife and sliced his throat.

{¶ 39} Osie told Simpson that he “had tried to make it look like a break-in.” Osie told Simpson that he took a flat-screen television and a credit card and also removed checks from Williams’s safe. Osie said that he had tried to purchase gas with the credit card. He also had gone to Meijer and tried to buy a diamond ring for Patterson, but the card was declined. Simpson testified that Osie never told him that before arriving at Williams’s house, he had intended to harm Williams or steal anything.

{¶ 40} According to Simpson, Osie had been calling and writing Patterson, but Patterson refused to take Osie’s calls or answer his letters. Shortly before Simpson’s scheduled release, Osie asked him what his plans were; Simpson said that he was going back to Kentucky. Osie asked him to “stick around for a couple of days and do him a favor.” Osie wanted Simpson to “find the murder weapon and place it in Mrs. [Robin] Patterson’s car.” Osie described the weapon as a 12–inch hunting knife. He told Simpson that he had thrown it from the window of his vehicle and gave Simpson directions for finding it.3

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/oh-supreme-court/1672494.html

James O’Neal Ohio Death Row

james o'neal

James O’Neal was sentenced to death by the State of Ohio for a robbery murder. According to court documents James O’Neal would break into his estranged wive’s home and would murder the woman. James O’Neal would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death.

Ohio Death Row Inmate List

James O’Neal 2021 Information

Number A325132

DOB 07/10/1954

Gender Male Race Black

Admission Date 12/14/1995

Institution Chillicothe Correctional Institution

Status INCARCERATED

Denny Obermiller Ohio Death Row

denny obermiller

Denny Obermiller was sentenced to death by the State of Ohio for the murder of his grandparents. According to court documents Denny Obermiller would sexually assault and murder his Grandmother and murder his Grandfather. The victims. Candace Schneider, 61 and Donald Schneider, 60. were found four days after their murders. Denny Obermiller would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death.

Ohio Death Row Inmate List

Denny Obermiller 2021 Information

Number A600936

DOB 02/11/1982

Gender Male Race White

Admission Date 03/18/2011

Institution Chillicothe Correctional Institution

Status INCARCERATED

Denny Obermiller More News

An ex-convict has been sentenced to death in Ohio for killing his grandfather and raping and killing his grandmother.

A three-judge panel in Cleveland handed down the sentence Friday against 29-year-old Denny Obermiller. He had pleaded guilty to 17 counts including aggravated murder, kidnapping and rape.

Sixty-year-old Donald Schneider and 61-year-old Candace Schneider of Maple Heights were found strangled in their home in August. Days earlier they had reported a coin theft and suspected Obermiller.

Obermiller went to live with them in 2009 after serving a nine-year prison term for assault and kidnapping.

A message seeking comment was left for a member of Obermiller’s defense team.

Death sentences are automatically appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court.

https://www.corrections1.com/arrests-and-sentencing/articles/ohioan-who-raped-grandma-gets-death-for-2-murders-prgMPsKE7I5mxI8J/