Hoerig case guilty verdict a testament to rule of law

It was a bittersweet moment for the Mahoning Valley when Judge Andrew Logan announced the verdict of the jury: “Guilty.”

Bitter because it took more than a decade for killer Claudia Hoerig to be brought to justice.

Sweet because the victim, Karl Hoerig, a major in the Air Force Reserve who was gunned down by his wife in cold blood, can finally rest in peace.

For Karl’s family, including his father, Ed, and brother, Paul, the verdict Thursday in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court provides the closure that has eluded them for years and years.

And for veteran Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins, who had made the Hoerig case his raison d’etre, the three hours of jury deliberation after an eight-day trial was an exclamation point to an exemplary career in criminal justice.

It is fitting that Watkins made the final argument to the jury of 10 men and two women for why Claudia Hoerig should be convicted for the aggravated murder of her husband.

Had it not been for Watkins’ persistence, his firm belief in justice and his indefatigable commitment to the law, Mrs. Hoerig would still be living in her native Brazil, out of reach of the county prosecutor’s office.

But year after year, with the help of Congressman Tim Ryan of Howland, D-13th, former Democratic congressman and state Rep. John Boccieri and other state and federal lawmakers, Watkins kept hope alive.

Karl’s body was found March 15, 2007, in his Newton Falls home. He had been shot to death.

Claudia fled the area and returned to her native Brazil where she lived in freedom for years – even after a Trumbull County grand jury indicted her on a charge of aggravated murder with a gun specification.

But Watkins refused to give up his quest for justice for Karl and was undaunted by the Brazilian government’s intransigence on extraditing her to the United States to stand trial in Trumbull County.

Supreme Court in Brazil

Finally in April 2016, Claudia Hoerig was arrested after Brazil’s Supreme Court revoked her Brazilian citizenship, which she had maintained along with her U.S citizenship.

While the justices voted 4-1 to extradite her to stand trial for the murder of her husband, there were impediments to her return. The high court said the accused killer should not receive the death penalty or life in prison, which are prohibited in Brazil.

Watkins let it be known that the death penalty did not apply in the case.

In January 2018, she was brought back to Trumbull County by the U.S. Marshals Service and booked into the county jail.

She pleaded not guilty and Judge Logan set her bond at $10 million.

In her defense, Claudia Hoerig admitted to killing her husband in their Newton Falls home but said she did not plan to do it.

The accused said Karl had mentally abused her and that she had threatened to kill herself on the fateful day. But she said she turned the gun on him after he told her to go the basement to kill herself because he didn’t want blood on his paintings.

Assistant Prosecutor Chris Becker, who handled much of the questioning of witnesses, poked holes in the defendant’s claims that she acted impulsively when she shot her husband.

Indeed, a juror told reporters after Thursday’s court proceedings that the case was “clarified” for him and other jurors after forensic evidence showed she shot the victim several times. Had she been acting in a rage, the juror said, Claudia would have fired once and then stopped.

Judge Logan will sentence the killer Feb. 8. Under Ohio law, he could sentence the 54-year-old to life in prison without any chance of parole or life in prison with eligibility for parole after 20, 25 or 30 years.

There’s no indication what the prosecution will recommend, but whatever it is, Claudia Hoerig, the Most Wanted criminal in the Mahoning Valley’s recent history, will pay for her crime.

To be sure, the wheels of justice turned so slowly for so many years it seemed the accused would always avoid the long arm of the law.

But pressure on the Brazilian government by Congress and the White House at the urging of Congressman Ryan, Watkins and others made indefinite protection of the U.S. citizen impossible.

Now, Karl Hoerig can rest in peace, his family can find solace in the guilty verdict, and Watkins, Becker and the county prosecutor’s office can have the satisfaction of knowing that they kept faith with the people of the Mahoning Valley.