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Thread: Wesley Coonrod Sentenced on Two Counts of Involuntary Manslaughter in 2010 OH Arson Deaths of His Two Boys

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    Wesley Coonrod Sentenced on Two Counts of Involuntary Manslaughter in 2010 OH Arson Deaths of His Two Boys

    Death penalty sought against Greenfield father

    GREENFIELD -- Almost a month after a fire in Greenfield claimed the lives of two boys, Highland County Prosecutor Jim Grandey said Wednesday he is seeking the death penalty if he can get a conviction against the children's father, Wesley Coonrod.

    On Tuesday, a Highland County Grand Jury returned indictments against Coonrod, 42, of 150 Lafayette St., Apt. A, on two counts each of aggravated murder, murder and child endangering and one count of aggravated arson.

    Grandey said the children, Steven, 3, and Thomas, 4, were killed while Coonrod was committing arson.

    According the State Fire Marshal's Office, the fire broke out about 12:30 a.m. March 7.

    Investigators said they charged Coonrod because of his level of intoxication and his actions when the fire started.

    He allegedly was walking around drunk outside the burning duplex when emergency crews arrived. Neighbors attempted to gain access to the home to find the boys, but they said the smoke was too thick.

    Once firefighters were able to enter the home, they found the children in their bedroom. The boys suffered from burns and died later at the hospital from smoke inhalation, a preliminary coroner's report found.

    Greenfield Police Chief Tim Hester said when crews arrived, the front and back doors of the home were locked.

    Coonrod is being detained in the Highland County Jail on a $1 million bond. Grandey said no court date has been set yet because authorities still are waiting for him to obtain special counsel to represent him in the capital murder case.

    http://www.chillicothegazette.com/article/20100408/NEWS01/4080309/1002/rss01

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    Coonrod will be retried

    The state plans to retry Wesley Coonrod on 2 counts of murder and 1 count of aggravated arson, according to a motion filed by Highland County Prosecutor Jim Grandey Monday afternoon.

    "The state contends that these 3 counts were the subject of a hung jury and are ripe for resolution," the motion states.

    Coonrod faced charges of aggravated murder with capital specifications, as well as charges of child endangering and aggravated arson during his trial last month. The charges stemmed from a March 7 fire at Coonrod’s residence that killed his sons Thomas, 4, and Steven, 3.

    The jury was dismissed after handing down a guilty verdict 2 3rd-degree felony charges of child endangering, but was deadlocked on all the other charges.

    The state indicated it would not retry Coonrod on the capital murder charges, which carry death penalty specifications, but only on 2 counts of murder which are unclassified felonies.

    In a separate entry Monday, Highland County Common Pleas Court Judge Rocky Coss appointed attorney Michael P. Kelly of Mt. Orab to represent Coonrod in the retrial.

    Coss had previously allowed 1 of Coonrod's attorneys to withdraw from the case. He said it is up to Coonrod to choose which public defender will be retained for continuity.

    A retrial date has been tentatively scheduled for Jan. 3, 2011.

    (source: Wilmington News Journal)

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    Prosecutors Won't Seek Death In Father's Retrial

    A man accused of killing his children in a fire at his mobile home will not face the death penalty in a new trial.

    Wesley Coonrod was found guilty on child endangerment charges last month, but a jury was hung on murder and arson charges which could have sent him to death row.

    Now prosecutors say they will retry him on those charges, but won't seek the death penalty.

    Investigators believe Coonrod set the fire and escaped, leaving his two sons locked inside the burning home.

    A new trial has not been scheduled yet.

    http://www.wlwt.com/news/25623130/detail.html

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    Coonrod retrial to take place in Circleville

    The retrial for a Highland County father accused of setting a fire that killed his two young sons will be moved to another county.

    The retrial for Wesley Coonrod will be moved to the Pickaway County Common Pleas Court in Circleville, Ohio.

    During the first trial for Coonrod, he was convicted of child endangerment charges during his first trial in October, but the jury deadlocked on all other charges, which included murder, aggravated murder and arson.

    Coonrod is facing two charges of murder and one charge of aggravated arson in his retrial. While his first trial had death penalty implications, prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty in this trial.

    http://www.fox19.com/Global/story.asp?S=13454182

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    Father's Murder Retrial To Be Moved To Another County

    The retrial of a Highland County man in the deaths of his sons won't take place in Highland County.

    Judge Rocky Coss granted a change of venue for Wesley Coonrod, citing trial publicity as a major factor.

    Coonrod was charged with murder after his sons, 4-year-old Thomas and 3-year-old Steven, died in a fire at his home in March.

    A jury was unable to come to a verdict on the murder charges, but did find him guilty on two minor charges.

    Coss said given the size of Highland County's jury pool, it would be difficult to find people who did not know about those convictions, which would not be brought up in the new trial.

    As a result, the trial will now take place Jan. 3 in Circleville, about 130 miles northeast of Hillsboro and outside the Cincinnati TV-newspaper market.

    Unlike his first trial, Coonrod will not face the death penalty in his second trial.

    http://www.wlwt.com/news/25760026/detail.html

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    Coonrod murder retrial continued to Jan. 24

    The murder retrial of Wesley Coonrod has been rescheduled for Jan. 24 in the Pickaway County Common Pleas Court following a joint motion from the state and defendant for a continuance of the trial.

    “The basis of the motion is that due to the holiday season both the state of Ohio and the defendant are finding it difficult to schedule witness interviews for trial preparation and it is believed that a continuance period of thirty days would be in the best interest of both parties,” the motion states.

    Highland County Common Pleas Court Judge Rocky Coss granted the motion during a hearing Tuesday morning.

    Coss also upheld his initial ruling on fees for expert witnesses for the defense.

    Citing the county’s “precarious financial situation,” Coss disallowed $6,000 in payments to SEA, a fire inspection company that was hired by the defense for Coonrod’s initial capital murder trial.

    In an entry filed last month, Coss said that the court approved a total of $13,000 in payments to SEA, but the company later billed the court for $30,000.

    SEA had originally estimated that the project would cost $9,978.

    “The court feels that it has the authority to reject payment of all amount in excess of the $13,000 which it has previously approved,” the entry states. “…When this court approves appointment of an expert and payment of funds for services for a defendant in a criminal case, it does not by such order issue a blank check upon the county treasury. Defendant was aware of this county’s precarious financial situation.”

    Coss issued an order Tuesday to subpoena the witnesses from SEA, as well as two other expert witnesses for the defense, so that they would be compelled to testify at the retrial.

    “I won’t be bullied by SEA,” Coss said. “They are expert witnesses and they will be paid expert witness fees. They will not refuse to testify, or I will issue a warrant for their arrest…. Maybe they’ll learn a lesson from this, instead of thinking there’s a blank check here.”

    Coss did amend the amount of paid time allowed for the defense’s witnesses to review testimony from Coonrod’s first trial, increasing the time from two hours to eight hours total.

    Coonrod stood trial last month on charges of capital murder, aggravated arson and child endangering.

    He is set to be retried on arson and unclassified felony murder charges in the Pickaway County Common Pleas Court after a jury found him guilty of child endangering, but was deadlocked on all other counts.

    His final pretrial is set for Jan. 5 at 11 a.m.

    Source

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    Second Trial Underway For Wesley Coonrod

    The second trial for a Highland County father accused of setting a fire that killed his two young sons is underway this afternoon.

    The jury was seated earlier today and the prosecution is now calling witnessed.

    This trial is taking place in Pickaway County.

    In his first trial, Wesley Coonrod was found guilty of two counts of child endangering.

    His three and four year old boys died inside their burning home in Greenfield last March.

    The jury deadlocked in October on murder and arson charges.

    Witnesses say he was drunk and standing outside in his underwear as the apartment burned with Steven and Thomas inside.

    As in the first trial, Coonrod could face the death penalty if convicted.

    http://www.local12.com/news/local/st...IyEYFECvg.cspx

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    Photo Katie Wright/Ohio Community Media Wesley Coonrod, left, is shown in Pickaway County Common Pleas Court on Monday

    Testimony begins in Day 1 of murder retrial

    Recounting once again the events of the fire last spring that resulted in two boys' deaths, the state and defense both made their opening statements Monday after a Pickaway County jury was seated in the murder retrial of Wesley Coonrod.

    Coonrod's sons, 4-year-old Thomas and 3-year-old Steven, were pronounced dead March 7, 2010 after a blaze at the family's residence at 150 A Lafayette Street. Coonrod stood trial in October in Highland County Common Pleas Court on charges of capital murder, aggravated arson and child endangering.

    He is being retried on arson and unclassified felony murder charges after a Highland County jury found him guilty of child endangering, but was deadlocked on all other counts.

    The capital specifications have been dropped by the state and Coonrod will not face the death penalty.

    The retrial, which is taking place this week in Pickaway County Common Pleas Court, got under way Monday afternoon after seven women and five men, as well as three alternates, were chosen to sit on the jury.

    In his opening statement, Highland County Prosecutor Jim Grandey said that neighbors who responded to the burning house found the doors locked and windows shut, and Coonrod outside, making no attempt to save his children.

    "The neighbors were trying to rescue two babies they knew were inside ... but their efforts were to no avail. All that time, the father was outside, in his underwear, doing nothing," Grandey said. "... When you've seen and heard all the evidence and testimony, it is our belief that you'll be able to find beyond a reasonable doubt that Wesley Coonrod did knowingly cause physical harm to an occupied structure, and also that you will find that he did knowingly cause the death of (Thomas and Steven Coonrod.)"

    In his opening statement, public defender William Mooney said that many of the facts of the case are undisputed, but that jurors must draw their own conclusions as to the facts.

    "A lot of these facts are not in dispute. The dispute lies in conclusions drawn from the facts," Mooney said. "No one can dispute that what happened on March 7 was a tragedy. That night, Wes Coonrod lost two of his three sons as a result of a fire. Nothing that happens in this courtroom will change the fact that this was a horrible tragedy."

    Mooney also said that the jury would hear testimony regarding the fire the family had at a previous home less than a month before, as well as the possibility that the boys caused the fire.

    "You will hear testimony that the boys were curious about fire, that they had in fact set things on fire," he said.

    The defense argued during Coonrod's first trial that both Thomas and Steven had been known to have an interest in fire, and one of the expert witnesses for the defense in the first trial used the term "juvenile fire setter."

    Witnesses for the state Monday included Judy McCarty of Greenfield Carpets, who testified regarding the flammability rating of the carpet installed at the family's residence at the time of the fire. McCarty testified that the carpet installed at the home had received a flammability certification required by the government.

    Matt Unger, the owner of the duplex, answered questions regarding the smoke detectors at the home, which he said were working, as well as the condition of the windows, which were found to be closed following the fire.

    Phil Bobb, who lived at the duplex prior to Coonrod moving in during the month of February 2010, testified regarding a can of lighter fluid that was found at the scene. Bobb said he had purchased the lighter fluid at Save-A-Lot in Greenfield and had left it at the residence when he moved away.

    Bobb's girlfriend, Shana Bennett, who did not testify during Coonrod's first trial, took the stand, saying that she remembered she and Bobb purchasing the lighter fluid and leaving it at the apartment when they moved .

    Paint Creek Joint Fire/EMS firefighter Jamie Thompson was the final witness of the day, recounting for the court what he saw when he responded to the scene of the fire that night.

    Thompson recalled entering the house and conducting a "right-hand search pattern" along the wall, eventually entering a bedroom and coming to the closed door of a closet.

    "I opened the door and found the two juveniles, lying face-down. I yelled that I'd found the victims. I picked up the first boy and another firefighter took him from me, then I picked up the second ... I brought him out to the sidewalk and (firefighter Aharon McCune) checked for pulse and breathing. There wasn't any."

    Thompson also answered questions regarding the fire, which he said was one of the hottest he remembered.

    "I noticed it was hot instantly. The carpet was melting on to my knees, which has never happened to me before," he said.

    The court is set to reconvene Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. The state plans to bring forward seven more witnesses before the defense begins its case. Mooney said the defense plans to bring forward seven witnesses and three additional expert witnesses, and said that Coonrod planned to take to the stand.

    http://newsdemocrat.com/main.asp?Sec...ticleID=132686

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    Day 3: State rests in Coonrod retrial

    After three days of testimony, the state rested Wednesday afternoon and the first witnesses for the defense took the stand in Pickaway County Common Pleas Court during the ongoing murder retrial of Wesley Coonrod.

    Following extensive testimony from the state's expert witness, fire investigator Trace Lawless from the Ohio State Fire Marshal's Office, the state concluded its case against the Greenfield man accused of setting his house on fire and killing his young sons.

    Coonrod is being tried for the murder of Thomas, 4, and Steven, 3, who died in a March 7 fire at the family's residence.

    During his testimony, Lawless showed the jury photos from the night of the fire and discussed evidence from the scene, including a blue Bic lighter that was found approximately seven feet inside the front door of the residence, and a can of charcoal lighter fluid that was found outside.

    Lawless said that it was his professional opinion that the fire was started by an open ignition source, such as a lighter, with the use of an ignitable liquid. He also provided carpet samples that he said had been tested for flammability at the State Fire Marshal's laboratory.

    During Coonrod's first trial, the defense had argued that the boys might have started the fire, possibly using a can of Tenactin foot spray that was found in the closet after the fire. The defense also suggested that the boys might have ignited one of the toy soldiers that was found in the closet.

    Lawless said that the carpet flammability tests, which he said were conducted Dec. 12, 2010, demonstrated that the carpet was "self-extinguishing" and would not sustain the kind of fire that occurred at Coonrod's residence.

    Cross-examination of Lawless by defense attorney Jerry McHenry included questions about laboratory testing of carpet samples from the residence, as well as the can of charcoal lighter fluid that was found outside.

    Lawless said that the carpet samples, and other debris samples from the residence, were tested for the presence of ignitable liquid and came back negative. The lighter fluid can was tested for fingerprints and DNA, and also came back negative, with no fingerprints or DNA. Lawless also said that the blue Bic lighter found inside the house had not been tested for DNA or fingerprints.

    Prior to Lawless' testimony, the court heard from Coonrod's ex-wife, Felisha Elliot, who was the mother of Thomas and Steven.

    Elliot told the court that her ex-husband, who is facing charges of murder in the deaths of their sons, was often moody, and that he would become angry and violent when he was drinking.

    Elliot, who divorced Coonrod last July, said the couple had been married for five years. Both boys lived with Coonrod at the time of the fire because, Elliot said, she was living in a hotel room and was unemployed.

    Elliot said Coonrod let her see the boys sometimes, "depending on what kind of mood he was in."

    "Sometimes he would say I could have them back, sometimes he would say I couldn't. It depended on his mood," she said.

    Elliot said the last time she saw the boys had been in February of last year. She said she had called Coonrod about visiting them on March 7, 2010, which was Thomas' fourth birthday.

    The court also heard testimony from Joyce Krech, who was the head nurse at Adena Greenfield Medical Center the night the boys were brought into the hospital; Benjamin Kelly Stockton, a neighbor who broke into the Coonrod's residence the night of the fire in an attempt to save the boys; and Heather Moore, who had been at another neighbor's house at the time of the fire.

    The first three witnesses for the defense testified during the late afternoon, beginning with Donald Scott Pearson, Coonrod's former brother-in-law who had visited with him just hours before the fire.

    Coonrod's son, Wesley Coonrod Jr., testified briefly about occasions where he had observed Thomas and Steven playing with fire.

    Wendy Birchfield, who is a friend of the Coonrod family, said that she had observed Coonrod's interactions with his children and that he had a "great" relationship with them.

    "They was decent kids ... he watched them. I'd see them together sometimes, at the grocery store and places. He'd keep them out of trouble," she said.

    Birchfield said that the night of the fire, she arrived at the hospital to find Coonrod crying and repeatedly asking, "Why?"

    "He was really upset, he kept screaming, asking why," she said. "I gave him a hug."

    Coonrod stood trial in October in Highland County Common Pleas Court on charges of capital murder, aggravated arson and child endangering.

    He is being retried on arson and unclassified felony murder charges after a Highland County jury found him guilty of child endangering, but was deadlocked on all other counts.

    The capital specifications have been dropped by the state and Coonrod will not face the death penalty.

    Testimony from the defense is set to resume at 8:30 a.m. Thursday.

    http://www.recordherald.com/main.asp...ticleID=138357

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    Juror dismissed in Coonrod retrial

    CIRCLEVILLE - After the jury encountered "an issue," a juror has been excused and deliberations have begun again in the murder retrial of Wesley Coonrod.

    The jury had deliberated for about seven hours Friday when, just before 9 p.m., the jury sent out a note that Judge Rocky Coss said "requires an inquiry of one or more jurors."

    Monday, after meeting for about 40 minutes in chambers with attorneys from the prosecution and defense, Coss said that one of the jurors had been excused and replaced with an alternate.

    "The jury will now have to start deliberations anew, from scratch," the Judge said. "The jury must discuss everything as if (prior deliberations) had never happened."

    Deliberations began again shortly after 10 a.m. Monday. The Judge said that the court had determined that, because of the nature of the note and the court's "belief that we need to keep deliberations as free from outside influences as possible," the note from the jury was not read in open court.

    Coonrod stood trial in October in Highland County Common Pleas Court on charges of capital murder, aggravated arson and child endangering stemming from a March 7, 2010 fire that killed his sons.

    He is being retried on arson and unclassified felony murder charges after a Highland County jury found him guilty of child endangering, but was deadlocked on all other counts.

    The capital specifications have been dropped by the state and Coonrod will not face the death penalty. The trial is taking place in Pickaway County Common Pleas Court after Coss granted a motion for a change of venue due to pretrial publicity.

    http://www.recordherald.com/main.asp...ticleID=138393

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