GUILTY OH - Johnny Clarke, 21, & Lisa Straub, 20, murdered, Springfield Twp, 31 Jan 2011

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Testimony begins in Springfield murder trials

Testimony is underway in the trials of two men charged in the brutal killings of a young couple in Springfield Township. Authorities found the bodies of Johnny Clarke and Lisa Straub in Straub's parents' home in January 2011.

Prosecutors say DNA from a cigarette butt found at the crime scene links Samuel Williams and Cameo Pettaway to the crime.

The state called eleven witnesses Monday, including the parents of Lisa Straub. It was the first time Mary Beth and Jeff Straub have spoken publicly about their daughter's death since the murders inside their home while they were out of town on vacation celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary.

The cruise ship captain actually alerted them to the horror back home.

The court also heard from several people who knew Lisa and her boyfriend Johnny Clarke. Some friends testified Johnny was a drug dealer. One even said he bragged that his girlfriend's parents' had a lot of money and a safe in the house.

http://www.13abc.com/story/19093492/testimony-begins-in-springfield-murder-trials
 
Father recounts finding son in double homicide trial

"While recounting what he found after kicking in the door of the home where his son was living, John P. Clarke stared across a Lucas County Common Pleas courtroom today at Samuel Williams, one of two men charged in the asphyxiation deaths of Johnny Clarke and his girlfriend Lisa Straub.

“His feet were taped. His ankles were taped. … He had a bag over his head,” the elder Clarke told a jury of nine women and three men. “… The first thing I thought was that I have to rip this bag off and give him CPR. … I put my hands on his head to turn it and it was stiff as a board.”


http://www.toledoblade.com/Courts/2...nts-finding-son-in-double-homicide-trial.html
 
(Should this thread be moved from currently awaiting trials to the active trial section?)

A jailhouse informant has testified today and alleges that Samuel Williams discussed details of the crime with him. (Warning: some of this testimony is a little disturbing, IMO)

Full article here: http://www.toledoblade.com/Courts/2012/07/25/Witness-says-defendant-talked-in-jail.html

"One of the things [Williams] said was that he'll never forget how the bag made a crinkle noise when Lisa [Straub] breathed in," said Erik Yingling, who was incarcerated at the jail in December, 2011, with Williams. " … They were trying to torture them, for lack of a better word, to try to get Johnny [Clarke] to tell where the safe and money was."

and

Yingling testified that Williams told him that he, Mr. Pettaway, and a third man went to the Straub home looking for heroin and cash.

"They did not go there to kill anybody," he testified, saying that he was told that the couple were tied up and that they put a bag over Ms. Straub's head to force Clarke to tell them where the money was hidden.

" … They would asphyxiate her until she passed out and then give her air. The third time, she didn't wake up," Yingling said.

Yingling further testified that Williams said that all they found was "monopoly money" -- cash with former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein depicted on it. He testified that Williams said they didn't take it because they didn't know how to change it into American dollars.

Ms. Straub's father, Jeff, previously testified he'd purchased about $4,500 in Iraqi currency as an investmen
 
Blondie in Spokane said:
Father recounts finding son in double homicide trial

"While recounting what he found after kicking in the door of the home where his son was living, John P. Clarke stared across a Lucas County Common Pleas courtroom today at Samuel Williams, one of two men charged in the asphyxiation deaths of Johnny Clarke and his girlfriend Lisa Straub.

“His feet were taped. His ankles were taped. … He had a bag over his head,” the elder Clarke told a jury of nine women and three men. “… The first thing I thought was that I have to rip this bag off and give him CPR. … I put my hands on his head to turn it and it was stiff as a board.”


http://www.toledoblade.com/Courts/2...nts-finding-son-in-double-homicide-trial.html
Click to expand...

Yikes.

Thanks for the update.
 
sls314 said:
(Should this thread be moved from currently awaiting trials to the active trial section?)

A jailhouse informant has testified today and alleges that Samuel Williams discussed details of the crime with him. (Warning: some of this testimony is a little disturbing, IMO)

Full article here: http://www.toledoblade.com/Courts/2012/07/25/Witness-says-defendant-talked-in-jail.html

"One of the things [Williams] said was that he'll never forget how the bag made a crinkle noise when Lisa [Straub] breathed in," said Erik Yingling, who was incarcerated at the jail in December, 2011, with Williams. " … They were trying to torture them, for lack of a better word, to try to get Johnny [Clarke] to tell where the safe and money was."

and

Yingling testified that Williams told him that he, Mr. Pettaway, and a third man went to the Straub home looking for heroin and cash.

"They did not go there to kill anybody," he testified, saying that he was told that the couple were tied up and that they put a bag over Ms. Straub's head to force Clarke to tell them where the money was hidden.

" … They would asphyxiate her until she passed out and then give her air. The third time, she didn't wake up," Yingling said.

Yingling further testified that Williams said that all they found was "monopoly money" -- cash with former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein depicted on it. He testified that Williams said they didn't take it because they didn't know how to change it into American dollars.

Ms. Straub's father, Jeff, previously testified he'd purchased about $4,500 in Iraqi currency as an investmen
Click to expand...

DOUBLE YIKES!

Glad to hear this thing is in motion again. I had nearly forgotten this case. I had no idea that one of the suspects was a big ole white guy. I only remember seeing the retarded one.
 
Breaking news:

Charges against Cameo Pettaway have been dismissed. This happened less than an hour ago, I got a breaking news text from WTOL.com

I will check back and update with a link as soon as it is available...usually they get the breaking news texts out before the Internet link is viewable.
 
Here you go:

After prosecutors rested their case about 2 p.m. Thursday, defense attorney Mark Geudtner made a motion for the charges to be dismissed contending the state had failed to prove its case, presenting just one piece of incriminating evidence: a Newport cigarette butt with Mr. Pettaway’s DNA on it.

Judge Bates took a 10-minute break to consider the motion before returning with his decision to dismiss two counts of aggravated murder, two counts of kidnapping, and one count of aggravated burglary against Mr. Pettaway.

Security was heavy in the courtroom as the decision was announced.

http://www.toledoblade.com/Courts/2...-charges-against-double-homicide-suspect.html
 
Oh my....my first thought when Iread this news was "this will send Johnny's mom right over the edge". Wow.
 
Local media is reporting that the jury has reached a verdict for Samuel Williams.

As soon as the verdict is actually announced, I'll post an update.

P.S. Blondie in Spokane - Johnny's mom gave interviews to local TV stations last night. I haven't watched the video yet...I'll post a link to the videos when I get a chance.
 
The frustrating thing is that Williams was found guilty. According to the jailhouse informant's testimony, Williams has stated that Pettaway and another individual were part of the crime too.

Pettaway can not be re-tried on those charges under Ohio law.

Did Pettway get away with murder?
 
sls314 said:
Breaking news:

Charges against Cameo Pettaway have been dismissed. This happened less than an hour ago, I got a breaking news text from WTOL.com

I will check back and update with a link as soon as it is available...usually they get the breaking news texts out before the Internet link is viewable.
Click to expand...


You've got to be kidding me.

W.T.F.
 
This would seem to me to be a smoking gun, GMAB

Of all the evidence collected, it was a discarded cigarette butt — and only that cigarette butt — that contained the DNA of both Williams and Mr. Pettaway, a DNA analyst testified in both courtrooms.

http://www.toledoblade.com/Courts/2012/07/25/Coroner-takes-stand-in-Williams-murder-trial.html
Click to expand...
Cassandra Agosti, laboratory supervisor for the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Bowling Green lab, testified that her analysis of a Newport cigarette butt found inside the Straubs’ home, near a door leading to the garage, contained a mixture of the two defendants’ DNA. She also testified that the majority of DNA detected on other evidence from the scene belonged to either Ms. Straub or Clarke.
Click to expand...

n particular, defense attorneys pointed out that the DNA of “unknown female number one” was found on the tape and inside the pockets of Clarke’s sweatpants and sweatshirt.
Click to expand...
 
Prosecutors did not have ducks lined up, by the sounds of this:

"All of the critical objects were taken by the [Bureau of Criminal Investigation] to be analyzed -- bags, duct tape, knives, butcher blocks, cell phones," Judge Bates said. "The house was trashed. Drawers were opened. Objects were taken and thrown around, and other than the cigarette butt, nothing has anything to do with Cameo Pettaway."


He said he was expecting the cell phone records presented by prosecutors to implicate Mr. Pettaway in the January, 2011, slayings, but if anything they did the opposite.


"I thought this is really going to put Mr. Pettaway in Holland during this critical time period," the judge said. "If anything the cell phone records showed that Mr. Pettaway may not have been at the scene. I'm surprised that the cell phone records were even utilized in evidence."


http://www.toledoblade.com/Courts/2012/07/27/springfield-twp-slayings-defendant-freed.html
Click to expand...
 
I think the other problem was that DNA on a cigarette butt doesn't necessarily place Pettaway at the scene.

Theoretically, it could be possible that Pettaway smoked part of a cigarette somewhere else, and the cigarette ended up at the scene with Williams.

Don't get me wrong - I don't really buy that theory, but I can see why the defense argued that it provided reasonable doubt. Especially since there was nothing else tying Pettaway to the scene.

(The jailhouse informant testimony at the Williams trial wasn't part of Pettaway's trial.)
 
Cameo Pettaway was just arrested again, this time in Oregon, Ohio, a suburb of Toledo, for beating up his live-in girlfriend. He couldn't keep out of trouble for even a few months.
 
sls314 said:
The frustrating thing is that Williams was found guilty. According to the jailhouse informant's testimony, Williams has stated that Pettaway and another individual were part of the crime too.

Pettaway can not be re-tried on those charges under Ohio law.

Did Pettway get away with murder?
Click to expand...

YES! IMO He did.
That judge made a big mistake IMO. I could see dropping possible dropping charges but giving him an acquittal is crazy ! Now a sadistic killer was walking the streets again. Thankfully for the next 6 yrs he will be in a cage.
 
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