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James Mammone Ohio Death Row

James Mammone was sentenced to death by the State of Ohio for a triple murder. According to court documents James Mammone would murder his two young children and his mother in law. James Mammone would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death.

Ohio Death Row Inmate List

James Mammone 2021 Information

Number A581111

DOB 12/24/1973

Gender Male Race White

Admission Date 01/25/2010

Institution Chillicothe Correctional Institution

Status INCARCERATED

Jason Mammone More News

The convictions and death sentence of a Canton man for stabbing and killing his two young children and murdering his ex-mother-in-law were affirmed today by the Supreme Court of Ohio.

In a 6-1 ruling, the court rejected nine arguments from James Mammone III, including that harmful publicity before trial made an impartial jury impossible and gruesome crime-scene photographs were wrongly allowed as evidence at trial.

The decision, written by Justice Judith Ann Lanzinger, upholds the judgment of the Stark County Court of Common Pleas.

Mammone and Marcia Eakin married in 1998 and had two children, Macy and James IV. In 2008, Mammone discovered that his wife had contacted a lawyer about divorcing him. He threatened her. Charged with verbal domestic violence, he was jailed for a brief time.

Eakin obtained a protection order and moved out. Their divorce was finalized in April 2009, and Mammone was given periodic evening and overnight visitations with the children.

On June 7, 2009, Mammone picked up his 5-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son at the home of Eakin’s parents. In the late afternoon, he began texting his ex-wife. They exchanged dozens of messages over the next 15 hours. He blamed her for breaking up the family and ruining their lives, among other accusations. She offered to take Macy and James back that night. As the texts became increasingly threatening, she called 911 and drove around looking for Mammone and the children.

In the early morning of June 8, Mammone stabbed his children while they were seated in their car seats in the backseat of his car. He then drove to the home of his ex-mother-in-law. He shot her, beat her, and shot her again. Police arrested him when he returned to his residence.

Mammone gave a confession to the police and was indicted on three counts of aggravated murder and for several other crimes. He pled not guilty.

During the guilt phase of his trial, Mammone’s lawyers did not present a defense. But they did offer evidence and testimony in the sentencing phase. In January 2010, the jury found Mammone guilty on all counts, and the trial court imposed three death sentences on the jury’s recommendation and sentenced him to 27 years for his other offenses.

Mammone appealed his convictions and death sentence directly to the Ohio Supreme Court.

Mammone’s attorneys contended that his trial should have been moved because the jury pool in Stark County was tainted by publicity about the case before his trial. One exhibit presented was a letter, published in the Canton Repository, which Mammone wrote and sent to the newspaper.

“We decline to allow Mammone to benefit from the publicity he created by submitting his own confession to the Repository,” Justice Lanzinger wrote in today’s opinion. “We conclude that the trial court’s denial of Mammone’s motion for a change of venue did not violate his rights to due process and to a fair trial by an impartial jury.”

She also pointed out that potential jurors completed an extensive questionnaire about publicity related to the case, that the court allowed thorough questioning, and that “dozens of potential jurors stated they knew nothing about the case.” Prejudice stemming from the pretrial publicity cannot be presumed in this case, and the outcome of the trial would not otherwise have been different, Justice Lanzinger concluded.

During the trial, crime-scene photos of the dead children in their car seats and their autopsy photos were admitted as evidence. The defense attorneys argued that the photos were unnecessary because Mammone did not deny killing the children, and the state could have proven their injuries and deaths in less graphic ways.

Justice Lanzinger rejected these assertions, explaining that the state had to prove that Mammone purposely killed Macy and James, and the photos were necessary to do that. The value of the photos to the state in proving its case outweighed the possible unfair prejudice to Mammone, Justice Lanzinger wrote.

The court also overruled several other arguments from Mammone, including claims of prosecutorial misconduct, juror bias in favor of the death penalty, and ineffective assistance of counsel.

The court independently reviewed Mammone’s sentence and determined that the evidence supported the jury’s finding of the aggravating circumstances – including the murder of children under 13 years old. Justice Lanzinger concluded that those circumstances “strongly outweigh[ed]” and, in the case of the children, “overwhelm[ed]” factors that might have lessened Mammone’s sentence, such as his childhood abuse, severe personality disorder, strong work history, and other background.

Joining the court’s majority were Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor and Justices Paul E. Pfeifer, Terrence O’Donnell, Sharon L. Kennedy, and Judith L. French.

Justice O’Neill agreed with the majority “that Mammone’s convictions must stand.” But he dissented on affirming the death sentence, citing his dissent in State v. Wogenstahl (2013) in which he concluded that the death penalty violates the constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.

“Once again, a case has come before us that challenges my resolve to stay the course regarding the unconstitutionality of the death penalty in Ohio,” Justice O’Neill wrote. “It is incomprehensible how someone could murder his own children while they are helplessly strapped into their car seats.”

“However, as evil as Mammone is, I still must conclude that life in prison without the possibility of ever being released is the appropriate sentence …. The death penalty is both cruel and unusual and I refuse to ratify the taking of any human life in the name of retribution, deterrence, or punishment.”

2010-0576. State v. Mammone, Slip Opinion No. 2014-Ohio-1942.

Michael Madison Ohio Death Row

Michael Madison was sentenced to death by the State of Ohio for a series of murders. According to court documents Michael Madison was responsible for at least three murders and a series of sexual assaults. This serial killer would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death.

Ohio Death Row Inmate List

Michael Madison 2021 Information

Number A683577

DOB 10/15/1977

Gender Male Race Black

Admission Date 06/13/2016

Institution Chillicothe Correctional Institution

Status INCARCERATED

Michael Madison More News

The death sentence handed down to an Ohio man convicted of killing three women whose bodies were found wrapped in garbage bags was appropriate, the state Supreme Court ruled in upholding the sentence.

East Cleveland resident Michael Madison was arrested within days of the discovery of the bodies in 2013. He was indicted and eventually convicted at trial in 2016.

Justice Pat DeWine wrote the court’s unanimous opinion, released last week and rejecting claims by Madison’s attorneys that Madison deserved life in prison, and not a death sentence, because of irregularities in the jury selection and trial process,

DeWine said there was overwhelming evidence to support a death sentence for the killings carried out over nine months. A killer’s “course of conduct” behavior involving multiple deaths, even if they don’t occur at the same time, is a factor under Ohio law for receiving a death sentence.https://www.usatodaynetworkservice.com/tangstatic/html/ncod/sf-q1a2z3be0d353f.min.html

“The similarities in the murders indicate that a single person killed all three victims,” DeWine wrote. “Madison’s admissions and the strong evidence connecting the victims to him and to his residence prove that he was the murderer.”

The court also rejected arguments that Madison should be spared because of an abusive and unstable childhood, noting the killings happened when Madison was 36 years old.

Madison’s attorney, Tim Sweeney, declined comment. Madison has years of both state and federal appeals ahead of him.

https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/crime/2020/07/27/ohio-supreme-court-upholds-death-sentence-for-killer-of-3-women/42082497/

Clarence Mack Ohio Death Row

Clarence Mack was sentenced to death by the State of Ohio for a robbery murder. According to court documents Clarence Mack, Thomas Sowell and Reginald Germany would shoot and kill Peter Sanelli during a robbery. Clarence Mack would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death.

Ohio Death Row Inmate List

Clarence Mack 2021 Information

Peter Sanelli, along with his son Anthony, owned and operated Sandglo Glass and Mirror Company on Prospect Avenue in the city of Cleveland. On January 21, 1991, Thomas Sowell, Reginald Germany, and the defendant-appellant, Clarence Mack, carjacked Mr. Sanelli as he was leaving his business, fatally shooting him and stealing his car.

Mr. Sanelli was last seen around 5:45 p.m. by his son Anthony. At that time, Anthony went home for the day, leaving Mr. Sanelli at Sandglo. Before he left, Anthony gave his father a package of nails that he would need for a job. Mr. Sanelli’s body was found around 6:10 p.m. lying in the middle of the parking lot next to Sandglo. Dr. Robert Challener of the Cuyahoga County Coroner’s Office later testified that the autopsy performed by Dr. Kalil Jiraki showed that Mr. Sanelli had been shot three times, and died from these wounds. One bullet entered the left side of the victim’s face, somewhat below the ear. The irregular entrance wound indicated that the bullet had come in contact with an intermediate object such as glass before striking the victim. The other two bullets were fired into Mr. Sanelli’s left shoulder from close range. One of these bullets struck Mr. Sanelli’s left lung and tore the sac which surrounds the heart. A pellet with its copper jacket was retrieved from the right sleeve of Mr. Sanelli’s undershirt.

Detective Leo Allen investigated Mr. Sanelli’s murder. At the scene where the body was found, Detective Allen discovered three nine-millimeter shell casings on the street three to five feet from the curb. A fourth shell casing was discovered on the sidewalk behind the Dome Grille, a neighboring business.

Mr. Sanelli’s car, a 1987 light blue or silver Plymouth Horizon with red and white truck license plates, was found around 7:15 p.m. It had been crashed into a utility pole at East 90th and Holton Avenue. The front driver’s side window and rear passenger side window were broken out. Anthony Sanelli testified that the car’s windows were all intact when he last saw his father before the murder. An apparent bullet indentation was discovered on the rear passenger door, and a bullet hole was found in the back side of the passenger front seat. Part of a copper jacket to a nine-millimeter bullet was found in the car. No fingerprints were found.

On January 23, 1991, two days after the murder of Peter Sanelli, Timothy Willis approached the Sanelli family with information regarding the murder. The Sanelli family sent Willis to the police. At approximately 2:30 p.m. on January 23, Mr. Willis called Lt. John James, and told him the following story.

Willis stated that on January 21, 1991, he was approached around 5:30 p.m. by the appellant, Thomas Sowell and Reginald Germany, who were looking to buy gun to aid them in stealing a car. When Willis refused, Germany told Sowell that he had a nine-millimeter gun which Sowell could borrow. The three then drove away. Later around 6:45 p.m. the appellant and Sowell drove up to Willis in a silver Plymouth Horizon. Willis especially noticed that the automobile had red and white license plates and that the back passenger and front driver side windows were broken out. Sowell told Willis that they had obtained the car on Prospect Avenue. The appellant and Sowell then discussed in front of Willis their reasons for shooting “the man.” Sowell said that he had fired at the car window because the man disobeyed his instructions by attempting to lock his door. The appellant claimed that he had started shooting because Sowell had fired. During this discussion, Willis noticed a pair of binoculars. Anthony Sanelli testified that his father kept a pair of binoculars in the car. Later that evening, Willis recognized the car driven by the appellant and Sowell on the evening news story about the murder of Peter Sanelli.

On January 22, 1991, Willis met the appellant and Germany at approximately 9:00 p.m. and drove around with them in a red van. Willis specifically asked the appellant and Germany where they got the silver Plymouth Horizon. The appellant again told Willis that they got it from the downtown area. The appellant and Germany laughed as they related how Sowell had injured his nose when he crashed the stolen car into a pole.

After Willis told the police this story, he informed them where and when they might locate the appellant, Germany and Sowell. Based on the information given by Willis, the police dispatched officers to arrest these men. Willis had told the police that the appellant and Germany were on their way to his address. The police saw a red van matching the description given by Willis park in front of Willis’s house at around 4:30 p.m. Reginald Germany, the appellant, and Maurice Washington exited. A fourth man, Brian McKinney, remained in the van. Reginald Germany exited the driver’s side of the van holding a nine-millimeter gun in one hand, which he immediately dropped to the ground as the police approached. The officers stopped and frisked each of the men, and searched the van. The officers felt and uncovered a nine-millimeter gun in a holster under the appellant’s coat. The police also found a third gun on the floor of the van at the feet of Brian McKinney. Appellant’s and Germany’s guns were loaded, and two additional clips were recovered from the appellant’s pockets as well. The men were taken into custody by the police.

Willis told police that Thomas Sowell could be located at Cleveland Industrial Drum. Police arrested Sowell there, and discovered a nail in his pocket that matched the type of nails Anthony Sanelli had given his father shortly before Peter Sanelli was murdered.

Detective Qualey, along with Lt. John James, questioned the appellant on January 23, 1991, at approximately 4:30 p.m. after the appellant’s arrest. After advising the appellant of his Miranda rights, as printed on a standard police card, Det. Qualey questioned the appellant about the nine-millimeter gun that had been found on the appellant’s person at the time of the arrest. Appellant stated that he had bought the gun on January 22, 1991, from an individual who was unknown to him. Further, the appellant denied any knowledge of, or involvement in, the murder of Peter Sanelli. After about an hour of interrogation, appellant was returned to his cell.

About half an hour later Detective Qualey became aware of the results of ballistics tests. The tests revealed that the three spent shell casings found on the street at the murder scene and the bullet found on Peter Sanelli at the morgue had come from appellant’s nine-millimeter gun. The ballistics tests also revealed that the gun confiscated from Reginald Germany at the time of his arrest had fired the spent shell casing found on the sidewalk outside the Dome Grille and the copper bullet jacket found in the stolen car.

Detective Qualey reapproached appellant and asked if he knew his rights, to which appellant responded “yeah.” After being informed of the ballistics tests, appellant changed his story. He stated that he had loaned the nine-millimeter handgun to a stranger known to him only as “Dee” the day before the murder of Peter Sanelli. Appellant claimed that Dee had needed protection because he was going to a party. The gun had been returned to the appellant the day after Sanelli’s murder. The appellant noticed that the gun had been fired but did not ask why.

The grand jury indicted appellant for two aggravated murder counts as well as aggravated robbery. Each murder count included a death penalty specification alleging murder during an aggravated robbery in violation of R.C. 2929.04(A)(7). Count One of the indictment, which charged appellant with purposely causing the death of Peter Sanelli with prior calculation and design, was eventually nolled.

The trial began on July 1, 1991. A key question during the selection of jurors concerned their views on the death penalty and their ability to apply the law as given to them by the judge. Two potential jurors, Mr. Spelic and Ms. Davis, were dismissed at the prosecution’s request because they stated that due to moral concerns or personal beliefs they could never consider imposing the death penalty even if so instructed by the law as defined by the judge. Three jurors expressed strong support for the application of the death penalty. Mr. Leib stated that he personally felt tht if someone kills someone else, “they’ve got it coming.” Mr. Jurecki and Ms. Frankel also stated personal support for the use of the death penalty. Each of these three jurors, however, stated that he or she would apply the law as given by the trial court judge, which might necessitate finding the appellant innocent, or sentencing him to life in prison. Ms. Frankel was removed by a peremptory challenge by the defense. The defense never moved to remove Mr. Jurecki for cause. The defense did move to have Mr. Leib removed for cause, but this motion was denied by the court.

https://casetext.com/case/state-v-mack-46

Ralph Lynch Ohio Death Row

Ralph Lynch was sentenced to death by the State of Ohio for the murder of a six year old girl. According to court documents Ralph Lynch would bring six year old Mary Jennifer Love to his apartment where the little girl would be murdered when she started to scream. Ralph Lynch would sexually assault the body of the little girl before disposing the body in a box. Ralph Lynch would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death.

Ohio Death Row Inmate List

Ralph Lynch 2021 Information

Number A382728

DOB 10/05/1949

Gender Male Race White

Admission Date 10/19/1999

Institution Chillicothe Correctional Institution

Status INCARCERATED

Ralph Lynch More News

Lynch lived alone in an apartment in Cincinnati. Mary Jennifer Love, a six-year-old girl, lived with her family in a neighboring apartment building and often played in the common area of the apartment complex.

{¶ 3} On June 24, 1998, Lynch invited Love into his apartment, and they watched TV and ate popcorn. Lynch asked to see Love’s genitals, and he took off her clothes. Lynch kissed and touched Love’s genitals, and she started to scream. He then strangled Love, placed her body in his bathtub, and put his finger into her vagina. Lynch put Love’s body into a cardboard box, put the box into his van, and dumped Love’s body in a nearby wooded area.

{¶ 4} Lynch was convicted of the aggravated murder of Love and sentenced to death.

State’s case

{¶ 5} In June 1998, Lynch and Love lived in adjoining buildings at apartments on Arborwood Drive. Lynch met Love about one year earlier when she had “handed him flowers in the parking lot” of the apartment complex. Love and other neighborhood girls would sometimes play in Lynch’s apartment building in bad weather. Love was described as a “very sweet little girl” who made friends easily and did not consider anybody a stranger.

{¶ 6} On June 23, 1998, Lynch spent 40 to 45 minutes talking to Love on the inside stairway in front of his apartment. Lynch was seated on the steps, and Love was standing in front of him. According to Lynch’s confession, “at one point * * * he lifted her up, and when he lifted her up, he leaned back and [while] holding her on an angle * * * her vaginal area was right in his face. And * * * when that happened, he became very excited and he obtained an erection.”

{¶ 7} Shortly after 3:00 p.m. on June 24, 1998, Love left her apartment and went outside to play. Love was wearing a one-piece swimming suit, shorts, and brown sandals.

{¶ 8} According to Lynch’s confession, around 4:00 p.m., Love entered Lynch’s apartment building and Lynch invited her into his apartment. Lynch and Love sat on the floor, watched TV, and ate popcorn. Lynch told Love that he loved her, she gave Lynch a kiss on the cheek, and “that’s when the feelings all started,” meaning that he got an erection.

{¶ 9} Lynch rubbed Love on the back, kissed her on the neck, and touched her belly button. They moved to his bedroom, and Love sat on the bed. Lynch asked Love if he could “see it,” and she pulled her swimming suit to the side to show her genitals. Lynch started “licking * * * and kissing” her genitals, and his tongue went inside her vagina “a little.”

{¶ 10} Love started screaming after Lynch touched and kissed her. Lynch told Love not to be afraid and asked her whether he “could see her out of the bathing suit.” Lynch then “took the swim suit off of her,” and she was completely naked except for her shoes and socks. When Love started screaming again, Lynch strangled her by putting his hands around her neck and squeezing for “approximately * * * three minutes.”

{¶ 11} After strangling her, Lynch carried Love into the bathroom and put her in the bathtub. Lynch poured some water into her mouth, and “she gasped and * * * the water went down in her lungs.” Lynch concluded that Love was dead. He placed his finger into her vagina and then “started feeling bad about what * * * [he had] just done.”

{¶ 12} Lynch went into the kitchen, found a garbage bag, and placed it over Love’s head so that he “couldn’t see her face.” Lynch then took Love’s body out of the bathtub and placed her inside a cardboard vacuum cleaner box. Around 5:00 p.m., Lynch left his apartment carrying the cardboard box with Love’s body inside. Lynch put the box inside his van and started “riding around looking for some place to dump her body.”

{¶ 13} Lynch dumped Love’s body in an isolated and wooded area off Breezy Acres Drive, located one and one-half to two miles from Lynch’s apartment. Lynch carried the box with Love’s body into an area 60 to 70 feet from the road, removed her body from the box, and placed it under a rug that “just happened to be * * * laying [sic] back there.” Then, Lynch dumped the cardboard box and Love’s shoes and socks in a nearby dumpster. Lynch disposed of Love’s swimming suit and shorts at another dumpster in Hamilton, Ohio. Shortly after 8:15 p.m., Lynch returned to his apartment.

{¶ 14} Around 7:30 p.m. on June 24, Carol Williams, the victim’s mother, went looking for Love after she had failed to show up for dinner. After Williams and other family members could not find Love, Williams notified the police around 9:00 p.m. that her daughter was missing.

{¶ 15} Around 10:00 p.m. on June 24, police began their search for Love. Additionally, many apartment residents searched for Love around the apartment complex and in a nearby wooded area.

{¶ 16} Lynch joined the search after noticing that people were looking for Love around the apartment complex. During the search, Lynch mentioned to his neighbor, James Doyle, “It’s a shame this has happened,” and “I wonder where she could have roamed off to.”

{¶ 17} On June 26, as the search for Love continued, FBI Special Agent Tracey Heinlein interviewed Lynch as part of a neighborhood canvass. Lynch stated that his last contact with Love was on June 23 when he said hello to her in the parking lot. However, a neighbor told police that on June 23, he saw Lynch talking to Love on a stairway near Lynch’s apartment.

{¶ 18} On June 27, Detective Thomas Corbett interviewed Lynch about discrepancies in his statement to Heinlein. At Corbett’s request, the interview was conducted at the police station, where Lynch completed a timeline detailing his whereabouts on June 24.

{¶ 19} On June 27, Detective Dennis Goebel recognized Lynch when Lynch arrived at the police station. While Lynch was being interviewed, Goebel retrieved police records showing that Lynch had a prior conviction for contributing to the delinquency of a minor for exposing himself to two young girls.

{¶ 20} After Corbett learned about Lynch’s criminal history, Lynch was advised of his Miranda rights and waived those rights. During questioning, Lynch admitted having “a conversation with Mary Love” on the steps inside his apartment building. He admitted grabbing Love while he was seated on the steps, picking her up, becoming very excited, and getting an erection. After police completed their interview, Lynch, who was not under arrest, drove back to his apartment.

{¶ 21} On July 3, police reinterviewed Lynch. After police again advised Lynch of his Miranda rights, and he again waived those rights, Lynch denied that he knew anything about Love’s disappearance. As Lynch’s interview proceeded, the police mentioned the need to find Love, the need for the family to grieve properly, and the need for Love to have a proper burial. Lynch then told the police, “She’s on Breezy Acres.”

{¶ 22} Police drove Lynch to Breezy Acres Drive. On the way there, Lynch told police, “I choked her. * * * She came up to my apartment, and that’s where it happened.”

{¶ 23} Lynch provided police with detailed directions on where to find Love’s body. He told them, “I put a bag over her head and she’ll be wrapped and rolled in a carpet in a wooded area off the highway.” Lynch told police, “Stop right here,” when they came to the location of Love’s body. He pointed through the car window and said, “It’s right inside the trees, you’ll find a carpet.”

{¶ 24} Following Lynch’s directions, police went into the woods and found Love’s skeletal remains underneath a carpet. A maggot-filled plastic garbage bag was covering the skull. While Lynch was in the police car at the scene, he told police, “I strangled her. I didn’t mean to do it. I’m sorry. I need help. I’m sorry I lied to you.”

{¶ 25} Police returned with Lynch to police headquarters after discovering Love’s remains. Lynch provided a taped, detailed account of the murder and signed the transcript of his taped confession that reflects the facts already described.

{¶ 26} Police searched Lynch’s apartment and found “an assortment of children’s toys, stuffed animals * * * in the bedroom closet on the shelf.” A box of popcorn and a roll of black plastic garbage bags were found in the cupboard.

{¶ 27} After examining Love’s remains, Dr. Robert Phalzgraf, Chief Deputy Coroner for Hamilton County, determined that Love was a homicide victim. Because Love’s skeletal remains were “perfectly intact” and because of her age, Phalzgraf was able to rule out a “gunshot wound, stab wound, blunt trauma, [or] being struck by a hard object” as the cause of death. Phalzgraf concluded that Love’s “cause of death was * * * asphyxia.”

{¶ 28} The defense presented no evidence during the guilt phase.

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/oh-supreme-court/1287130.html

Jose Loza Ohio Death Row

Jose Loza was sentenced to death by the State of Ohio for a quadruple murder. According to court documents Jose Loza would murder four members of his girlfriends family: 46-year-old Georgia Davis, his girlfriend’s brother, 25-year-old Gary Mullins, and his girlfriend’s sisters, 20-year-old Cheryl Senteno and 17-year-old Jerri Luanna Jackson, who was six months pregnant at the time. Jose Loza was arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

Ohio Death Row Inmate List

Jose Loza 2021 Information

Number A250059

DOB 06/19/1972

Gender Male Race Other

Admission Date 11/20/1991

Institution Chillicothe Correctional Institution

Status INCARCERATED

Jose Loza More News

On January 16, 1991, defendant-appellant, Jose Trinidad Loza, shot four members of the family of his girlfriend, Dorothy Jackson. The victims were shot in the head at close range while they slept in their home in Middletown, Ohio. Loza shot Jackson’s mother, Georgia Davis; her brother, Gary Mullins; and her two sisters, Cheryl (Mullins) Senteno and Jerri Luanna Jackson. Mullins died almost immediately from his wound; Davis and Senteno survived several hours before dying. Jerri Jackson, six months pregnant at the time of the shooting, died on January 31, 1991.

On the afternoon of January 16, 1991, Gary Hoertt observed an individual in a white Mazda pick-up truck with California plates loading trash into his dumpster at his shop in Middletown. Having had previous problems with the unauthorized use of his dumpster, Hoertt searched the dumpster for something with which to identify the individual. Hoertt found a letter in the dumpster signed by Loza with a return address in Butler County. Hoertt read the letter, the contents of which indicated that Loza was involved in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles and that he came to Ohio to avoid apprehension by the Los Angeles police.

After reading the letter, Hoertt called the Warren County Sheriff’s Department to report his discovery. Hoertt was informed that it would take some time before a deputy could respond. During that time, Hoertt was informed by an employee that the individual, later identified as Loza, and a female companion were seen in the vicinity of the nearby Greyhound bus station. Hoertt then called Middletown police detective Roger Knable.

After Knable arrived at Hoertt’s shop and read the letter, Knable and Hoertt went to the dumpster, where they retrieved other items that Loza had discarded, which included: a knife; an empty box for a .25 caliber Raven automatic handgun; a receipt signed by a Judy A. Smith for the purchase of the handgun on January 15, 1991; a woman’s purse; a blank check on the account of Georgia L. Davis; a general money order made payable to Jose Loza; clothing; and some other personal items.

As Hoertt and Knable were going through the items in Hoertt’s office, Hoertt saw Loza approach the dumpster. Knable went to his cruiser and requested his dispatcher to notify Warren County deputies that the individual had returned and that he was going to speak to him. Knable identified himself as a police officer, approached Loza with his gun in his hand, and instructed Loza to place his hands on the front of the car. Knable searched Loza and asked his name. At this time, Loza identified himself as “Jose Rodriguez.” Knable told Loza the reason he was being stopped was because of what he put in the dumpster. Loza responded “yes.” Knable said the letter indicated that Loza may have been involved in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. Loza again responded “yes.” Knable then informed Loza that he was going to handcuff him and hold him until Warren County deputies arrived. Knable then went to locate the woman who had been seen with Loza earlier. Loza said that the woman’s name was Cynthia Rodriguez, that she was his wife, and that they were headed to California.

Knable then went inside the bus station and approached Dorothy Jackson.He asked her name and she responded “Dorothy Jackson.” When asked, Jackson stated that Loza’s name was “Jose Rodriguez,” and that they were not married. Within a short time after Knable’s initial contact with Loza, Warren County deputies arrived. The deputies determined Jackson was under age and that she planned to travel to California with Loza. When asked, Jackson gave her mother’s telephone number to the deputies. Knable was unsuccessful in reaching Davis, Jackson’s mother, by phone. Detectives Knable and George Jeffery then went to Davis’s home at 1408 Fairmont, but did not receive any response when they knocked at the door. A neighbor approached the detectives and said that she had been trying unsuccessfully all day to get someone from the house to respond.

Because the police were unable to determine if Jackson had permission to travel out of state, she was arrested for being an unruly minor and was taken to the Warren County Juvenile Detention Center. Loza was arrested for contributing to the delinquency or unruliness of a minor and was taken to the Warren County Justice Center.

When the detectives began questioning Jackson at the juvenile detention center, she did not initially tell them of the murders. Shortly into the questioning, she began crying. She said she did not want to go to jail, and that Loza had killed her family. Jackson then told the detectives what she knew about the murders.

Based upon Jackson’s statement, Detective Knable obtained a search warrant for the house at 1408 Fairmont. When the police entered the house, they discovered the victims.

Knable and Jeffery then returned to the Warren County Justice Center and began questioning Loza. The detectives’ interview with Loza was videotaped. At the beginning of the interview, Loza waived his Miranda rights. Initially, Loza said that he and Jackson were traveling to California with her mother’s permission. The detectives told Loza they knew what had happened, and that it would be in his, Jackson’s and the unborn baby’s best interest if he just told the truth. About one hour into the interview, Loza confessed to the murders. Loza detailed the murders, including the order in which he shot the victims. Loza stated that Jackson was not in the house at the time of the murders, and that she did not know that he was going to kill her family members.

The detectives asked Loza when he began thinking about murdering Jackson’s family members. Loza responded that he had been thinking about it since he had obtained the gun and particularly after Davis had threatened to have him arrested if he tried to leave the state with Jackson. Loza explained that he shot Davis because of her threats. When asked why he shot the others, he responded: “Knowing I had to do one, I had to do all. * * * Because if I only done one, they would have—they would have known it was me. If I would have done all of them, nobody would have found out.”

State v. Loza, 71 Ohio St.3d 61, 641 N.E.2d 1082, 1091–92 (Ohio 1994).

In 1991, a jury convicted Loza of four counts of aggravated murder. It recommended that Loza be sentenced to death for the aggravated murders of Mullins, Senteno, and Jerri Jackson. It recommend that Loza be sentenced to thirty years’ to life imprisonment for the aggravated murder of Davis. The trial court accepted the jury’s recommendation.

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-6th-circuit/1677551.html