Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 19, 2006 16:35:50 GMT -5
Death penalty trial begins today
Geldrich accused of killing Middletown woman.The murder trial of a
Middletown man facing the death penalty begins today before a 3-judge
panel in Butler County Common Pleas Court.
Dean Geldrich, 40, is charged in the January slaying of 28-year-old
Miranda Lint in their Malvern Street home where Lint had just moved in
with the convicted killer weeks before.
Middletown police say Geldrich "terrorized" Lint for hours Jan. 1; her
hands and legs were bound with duct tape. She was struck with a hard,
blunt object that smashed her face and broke her jaw, and she also was
slashed a number of times, with one cut slicing the carotid artery. Butler
County Coroner Dr. Richard Burkhardt said Lint bled to death from her
injuries.
Her body was found at about 4:35 p.m. Jan. 3, after John Sanders, who said
he witnessed part of the attack and later contacted police. Lint was found
wrapped in a blanket, and police said a large club was found in the small
house.
Prosecutors say the slaying Geldrich committed two decades ago and Lint's
brutal killing are "hauntingly similar."
Geldrich served a prison sentence from May 28, 1987, to July 10, 2001. He
was convicted of manslaughter, robbery, grand theft auto and arson for the
1986 death of a 46-year-old Hamilton man.
A Butler County grand jury indicted Geldrich for aggravated murder and two
counts of kidnapping in the Lint murder. For the death penalty to be
considered, Geldrich must be found guilty of one of the kidnapping charges
and the aggravated murder charge.
Defense attorneys Chris Pagan and Melynda Cook-Reich say Geldrich suffers
from a severe bipolar illness and questioned whether the illness impeded
his ability to waive his Miranda rights. Butler County Common Pleas Judge
Daniel "Andy" Nastoff overruled a defense motion to have statements
excluded from trial.
Assistant Prosecutor Craig Hedric is seeking to introduce into evidence
Geldrich's previous manslaughter conviction. The defense is fighting to
keep it out. Nastoff has yet to rule on the issue.
The trial is expected to last three days. If found guilty, the penalty
phase will begin Sept. 25.
(source: Middletown Journal)
Geldrich accused of killing Middletown woman.The murder trial of a
Middletown man facing the death penalty begins today before a 3-judge
panel in Butler County Common Pleas Court.
Dean Geldrich, 40, is charged in the January slaying of 28-year-old
Miranda Lint in their Malvern Street home where Lint had just moved in
with the convicted killer weeks before.
Middletown police say Geldrich "terrorized" Lint for hours Jan. 1; her
hands and legs were bound with duct tape. She was struck with a hard,
blunt object that smashed her face and broke her jaw, and she also was
slashed a number of times, with one cut slicing the carotid artery. Butler
County Coroner Dr. Richard Burkhardt said Lint bled to death from her
injuries.
Her body was found at about 4:35 p.m. Jan. 3, after John Sanders, who said
he witnessed part of the attack and later contacted police. Lint was found
wrapped in a blanket, and police said a large club was found in the small
house.
Prosecutors say the slaying Geldrich committed two decades ago and Lint's
brutal killing are "hauntingly similar."
Geldrich served a prison sentence from May 28, 1987, to July 10, 2001. He
was convicted of manslaughter, robbery, grand theft auto and arson for the
1986 death of a 46-year-old Hamilton man.
A Butler County grand jury indicted Geldrich for aggravated murder and two
counts of kidnapping in the Lint murder. For the death penalty to be
considered, Geldrich must be found guilty of one of the kidnapping charges
and the aggravated murder charge.
Defense attorneys Chris Pagan and Melynda Cook-Reich say Geldrich suffers
from a severe bipolar illness and questioned whether the illness impeded
his ability to waive his Miranda rights. Butler County Common Pleas Judge
Daniel "Andy" Nastoff overruled a defense motion to have statements
excluded from trial.
Assistant Prosecutor Craig Hedric is seeking to introduce into evidence
Geldrich's previous manslaughter conviction. The defense is fighting to
keep it out. Nastoff has yet to rule on the issue.
The trial is expected to last three days. If found guilty, the penalty
phase will begin Sept. 25.
(source: Middletown Journal)