State v. Engle

684 N.E.2d 1311, 86 Ohio Misc. 2d 41, 1997 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 285
CourtFairfield County Court of Common Pleas
DecidedJanuary 24, 1997
DocketNo. 91-CR-AG-0170
StatusPublished

This text of 684 N.E.2d 1311 (State v. Engle) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Fairfield County Court of Common Pleas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Engle, 684 N.E.2d 1311, 86 Ohio Misc. 2d 41, 1997 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 285 (Ohio Super. Ct. 1997).

Opinion

FRED J. Shoemaker, Judge.

The Supreme Court of Ohio in State v. Engle (1996), 74 Ohio St.3d 525, 525-526, 660 N.E.2d 450, 451, stated:

“Appellant, Edna Mae Engle, and her husband, John Engle, Jr., were the parents of ten children.’ On July 9, 1991, John Engle’s sister reported to the Fairfield County Sheriffs Office that she believed the Engle’s son Christopher was dead. She stated that appellant had told her some weeks earlier that John Engle had killed Christopher. Subsequently, Mrs. Engle gave a statement to investigators that her husband had poured scalding water on Christopher and that Christopher had died two days later. Mrs. Engle was indicted on August 2, 1991, by the Fairfield County Grand Jury on one count of aggravated murder with a death-penalty specification, two counts of abuse of a corpse, three counts of forgery, two counts of perjury, sixteen counts of child endangering, one count of obstruction of justice, and one count of theft. The theft and forgery counts related to welfare fraud.

“Trial began on August 25 before a jury. The state rested on September 4, and the court overruled a defense motion for acquittal. After the defense gave its opening statement on September 8, but before any evidence was presented, ‘ the state filed a motion in limine to prevent appellant’s expert and others from testifying about duress and the battered woman syndrome. The court granted [42]*42the motion. Defense counsel then asked for a recess to confer with the prosecution.

“Following the recess, the state announced that the defendant would be changing her plea to several counts in the indictment. ‘We further anticipate the Defendant filing an appeal to appeal the Court’s rulings that have been rendered previously in this case,’ the prosecutor informed the court. ‘Certainly, she is permitted to file an appeal pursuant to this negotiated plea.’ The prosecutor further informed the court that the state would be dismissing the remainder of the counts ‘without prejudice only if she wins her appeal and is entitled to a completely new trial.’

“Defendant then pleaded no contest to one count each of murder, obstruction of justice, and theft, three counts of forgery, two counts of perjury and six counts of child endangering. The court then found her guilty on those counts and sentenced her to fifteen years to life on the murder charge, to be served consecutively, and to a term of nineteen and one-half years on the other charges.

“On appeal, the Court of Appeals for Fairfield County in a split decision held that under Crim.R. 12(H), appellant had waived the assignments of error that were based on the trial court’s refusal to allow testimony on the battered woman syndrome or duress and the trial court’s refusal to dismiss the aggravated murder and child endangering counts for insufficient evidence. The court of appeals also rejected appellant’s claim that her plea had not been voluntary because it was based on a belief that she could appeal certain issues.”

The Supreme Court of Ohio reversed the conviction, holding that defendant’s plea was not made knowingly or intelligently. The court remanded the cause to the trial court with instructions that Mrs. Engle be given the opportunity to withdraw her plea and proceed to trial and the state be allowed to reinstate the original charges.

After the local judges recused themselves from handling the retrial, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio appointed me to handle all further proceedings in this case. The court appointed Kort Gatterdam, Assistant State Public Defender, as counsel for defendant. Mr. Gatterdam had Max Kravitz act as his co-counsel.

The defendant filed many motions, which were set for an oral hearing. The court changed the venue of the retrial to Franklin County, and reduced defendant’s appearance bond to $40,000 cash, but limited defendant’s right to personally contact her children. However, her children were given the right to contact her if they so desired. The court set November 4, 1996 for a jury trial. While the appeal was pending, defendant was unable to post the $100,000 cash appearance bond; therefore, she was incarcerated for fifty-seven months. However, [43]*43after this court reduced the cash appearance bond to $40,000, her family posted the bond.

Approximately six weeks prior to the trial date, counsel requested a pretrial meeting to discuss whether the court would be willing to accept a plea bargain agreement.

Counsel did not know the exact counts to which defendant would enter a guilty plea, but it was agreed that the court would hold a two-day sentencing hearing and then decide whether to return the defendant to prison for up to an additional six years or immediately place her on probation. The parties further agreed that the court would read and consider all the testimony in her first trial, as well as the testimony submitted to the trial court on the motion in limine. The court agreed to this arrangement and, furthermore, at the request of the state, changed the venue back to Fairfield County. The sentencing hearing was set for December 16 and 17,1996.

Since I read all of the Supreme Court of Ohio’s opinions, I would have read the Engle opinion. However, I never gave it any special attention and do not believe that I read or watched in the newspapers or television anything about this case.

Prior to and at the sentencing hearing, I advised counsel that I would most likely announce my decision from the bench on December 17. Pursuant to the plea agreement, I spent about thirty hours reading the entire record and making notes. Additionally, on the evening of December 16, I spent another five hours studying admitted evidentiary material. After listening to all the evidence and arguments, it was absolutely clear to me that only Mr. Engle killed his son, Christopher. Also, he undoubtedly previously killed his daughter, Robin, in January 1976. John Engle was an alcoholic sociopath. The drunker he became, the more vicious he became. He battered and brutalized his wife and all of his children. His motto was “I’m the father and I can do whatever I want. Don’t anybody interfere. If you do, I’ll kill you.” He ran a house of horror and fear. His wife and children were terrified by him and would do or say anything he commanded to protect themselves from his brutal physical abuse.

FINDINGS OF FACT

(1) John Engle served in Vietnam and received a medical (psychiatric) discharge. He was advised to obtain psychiatric help, but he never did.

(2) Edna Mae Engle married John Engle II (John), in December 1972. They lived in Columbus, Ohio.

(3) After about one year of marriage, John began to physically and mentally abuse Edna.

[44]*44(4) John Engle III (Johnnie) was born on September 15,1973.

(5) In 1974, the family moved to Escanaba, Michigan, where daughter Robin was born on December 15,1974.

(6) On the evening of August 14,1975, an informant called the Escanaba Police Department and reported:

“John and his family were staying with them and that last night he (John Jr.) beat up John the III and left marks on him, then tonight he (John Jr.) put the little girl Robin in the freezer till she stopped crying and then he bit his wife Edna on the nose. John Jr. then left the house. The informant stated that he, John Jr., was going to get a gun. * * *”

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State v. Engle
660 N.E.2d 450 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1996)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
684 N.E.2d 1311, 86 Ohio Misc. 2d 41, 1997 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 285, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-engle-ohctcomplfairfi-1997.