Hocking
County prosecutor Benjamin E. Fickel has amended charges brought
against two 16-year-old males in the alleged September 2nd homicide
of 44-year-old Chillicothe photographer Victoria Shafer at Hocking
Hills State Park.
In
doing so, Fickel is also seeking to move the matter from the Hocking
County Juvenile Court system to the adult Hocking County Common Pleas
Court system. There the two youths would be tried as adults.
As
a result also, Fickel named the two defendants: Jaden W. Churchheus
and Jordan A. Buckley, both of Hocking County’s Logan. Each of the
two accused youths remain incarcerated in the Multi-County Juvenile
Detention Center in Lancaster.
Fickel’s
new accusations for Churchheus and Buckley – made October 24th –
includes
the additional charge of murder, which is an Unclassified Felony
punishable by up to life in prison.
Other
new charges include Felonious Assault, a felony in the second degree
and punishable by jail time from two to eight years, a fine of up to
$15,000, or both; as well as Involuntary Manslaughter, a felony of
the first degree and punishable by jail time of three to 11 years, a
fine of up to $20,000, or both.
Churchheus has
retained the service of Logan attorney Ryan Shepler while Buckley has
done the same with Athens attorney K. Robert Toy. Both attorneys were
in court on other matters at press time and thus were unable to
comment.
Originally,
the accused were charged in Hocking County Juvenile Court with
Reckless Homicide, a felony of the
third-degree, punishable by jail time of up to five years, a fine of
up to $10,000, or both.
It
is alleged the two youths caused a 74-pound, six-foot long log to
strike and kill 44-year-old Shafer.
Investigators
with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the Hocking County
Sheriffs Office say Schafer was standing about 75 feet below and on a
staircase at Old Man’s Cave, located within 2,356-acre Hocking
Hills State Park, when she was killed instantly by the log.
Hocking
County assistant prosecutor Jorden E. Meadows said a preliminary
probable cause hearing has been set for November 5th for both youths
and before the Hocking County Juvenile Court.
Meadows
said should the Hocking County Juvenile Court grant the prosecutor’s
request, the case would than be turned over to the Hocking County
Grand Jury for deliberation.
Asked
how long that process would take, Meadows said “that’s hard to
say.”
“We’ve
never done this before,” she said.
Meadows
said also the prosecutor's office was unaware of any prior criminal
complaint of any nature involving either youth.
Working
closely in the investigation with the Hocking County Sheriffs
Department was the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Both
entities are “wrapping up” their joint investigation, Meadows
says.
“We
appreciate the efforts of the investigators and support from the
public over the past several weeks in seeking a resolution to this
tragic incident,” also said Natural Resources Department Chief Of
Communications Sarah Wickham.
“The
case is now with the courts, and ODNR will continue being responsive
to requests from the legal system as it proceeds.”
- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
JFrischk@Ameritech.net
JFrischk4@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment