Tuesday, August 21, 2007
The court rejected three
arguments for overturning the conviction.
WARREN — The 11th District Court of Appeals has ruled against former Harding High School girls basketball coach David Jenkins in the appeal of his conviction for killing his wife, Deana.
Jenkins’ appeals attorney, Michael A. Partlow of Cleveland, argued that Judge Peter Kontos of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court should not have allowed jurors to hear third-party testimony about whether Deana Jenkins was planning to leave or divorce her husband in the days leading up to her death.
Appeals Court Judge Cynthia Wescott Rice, writing for the court, said testimony on that point was admissible because it reflected her state of mind and future intentions, which are exceptions to the Ohio law that says third-party testimony is not admissable.
Partlow also said Judge Kontos failed to protect the jurors from intimidation by audience members while witness Bernadette McElroy was testifying. Judge Kontos warned audience members at one point to stop making comments during testimony “or you may have the chance to taste the food at the county jail,” the decision said.
The appeals court determined that the defense did not seek a mistrial at the time the comments were made and that there was no evidence proving that audience members intimidated jurors.
Misconduct alleged
Partlow also said Chris Becker, assistant county prosecutor handling the case, committed misconduct during closing arguments when he asked the rhetorical question, “What witness came here” and confirmed Jenkins’ contention that he had gone into his northwest Warren neighborhood and played football with some neighborhood kids at the time of his wife’s murder.
Partlow argued that Becker’s question violated Jenkins’ right to a fair trial by implying that Jenkins was guilty of the crime because he chose not to testify during the trial.
The appeals court said Becker’s statement simply questioned why none of the kids Jenkins told friends he had played football with testified about the football game.
Jenkins was sentenced March 10, 2006, to 15 years to life in prison for killing his wife in their Clearwater Street Northwest home May 20, 2004, by strangling her. He is in Toledo Correctional Institution. His first parole board hearing is set for 2021.
Concurring with the ruling were Judge Mary Jane Trapp and Mary DeGenaro.
Jenkins, 45, was also former associate pastor at New Jerusalem Fellowship Church in Warren and former recreational director at the Rebecca Williams Community Center in the city.
runyan@vindy.com