Post by thinkinkmesa on Mar 13, 2009 22:25:51 GMT -5
Akron man gets death penalty in attack on couple
www.ohio.com/news/break_news/41228712.html
A panel of three Summit County judges sentenced an Akron man to death today for the slaying last year of an elderly Kenmore man and the near-fatal stabbing of his wife at the home they had lived in for more than 50 years.
Hersie R. Wesson, 51, was convicted by the panel Jan. 23 on charges of aggravated murder, aggravated robbery, attempted murder and other offenses following an eight-day bench trial.
Emil Varhola, 81, a World War II combat veteran of battles in the Philippines, was stabbed five times, including three times in the back, family members said.
His wife, Mary, 77, was stabbed seven times, including once in the heart, but survived the attack on the night of Feb. 25, 2008, by acting as though she were dead.
She is still recovering from her wounds in a nursing home and addressed the court today in an audio recording made Thursday with the help of a Victim Services advocate.
Mary Varhola, directing remarks to Wesson in a strong voice, said he ruined everything she and her husband had worked for in their 51 years of marriage.
''You think I hit you with a cane?'' she asked in the recording, referring to her actions on the night of the attack. ''Well, I'd like to run with these shoes right up your butt!''
Prosecutors said that Wesson, who knew the couple from doing odd jobs for them, entered the home looking for a gun so he could shoot his girlfriend.
The woman called Wesson's parole officer, and he was arrested the following day on South Arlington Avenue by Akron police and the U.S. Marshals Service Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force.
When Wesson was given the chance to address the court, he said he acted on the night of the stabbings in self-defense — a position he maintained throughout the trial.
''I'm sorry somebody got killed and I'm sorry somebody got seriously hurt, but [Mr. Varhola] shouldn't have reached in his pocket. That's why I reacted to that threat,'' he said in his statement.
To the Varholas and their family members, Wesson said: ''They don't care what I say, but I have family and friends in the back [of the courtroom], and I'd like to say I love you all and I'm sorry for taking you through this nightmare.''
Common Pleas Judges Thomas A. Teodosio, Brenda Burnham Unruh and Robert M. Gippin heard the case and issued the death sentence after a mandatory hearing to consider whether the aggravated circumstances of the case outweighed the mitigating circumstances.
Teodosio, the presiding judge, said the panel decided unanimously that the death penalty was warranted.
When Teodosio informed Wesson that he has the right to an automatic appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court, the defendant — dressed in red-striped jail clothes and seated at the defense table — nodded his head in agreement.
Teodosio also informed Wesson that two appellate death-penalty attorneys will be appointed for him and that he has the right to obtain any documents in the case free of charge.
www.ohio.com/news/break_news/41228712.html
A panel of three Summit County judges sentenced an Akron man to death today for the slaying last year of an elderly Kenmore man and the near-fatal stabbing of his wife at the home they had lived in for more than 50 years.
Hersie R. Wesson, 51, was convicted by the panel Jan. 23 on charges of aggravated murder, aggravated robbery, attempted murder and other offenses following an eight-day bench trial.
Emil Varhola, 81, a World War II combat veteran of battles in the Philippines, was stabbed five times, including three times in the back, family members said.
His wife, Mary, 77, was stabbed seven times, including once in the heart, but survived the attack on the night of Feb. 25, 2008, by acting as though she were dead.
She is still recovering from her wounds in a nursing home and addressed the court today in an audio recording made Thursday with the help of a Victim Services advocate.
Mary Varhola, directing remarks to Wesson in a strong voice, said he ruined everything she and her husband had worked for in their 51 years of marriage.
''You think I hit you with a cane?'' she asked in the recording, referring to her actions on the night of the attack. ''Well, I'd like to run with these shoes right up your butt!''
Prosecutors said that Wesson, who knew the couple from doing odd jobs for them, entered the home looking for a gun so he could shoot his girlfriend.
The woman called Wesson's parole officer, and he was arrested the following day on South Arlington Avenue by Akron police and the U.S. Marshals Service Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force.
When Wesson was given the chance to address the court, he said he acted on the night of the stabbings in self-defense — a position he maintained throughout the trial.
''I'm sorry somebody got killed and I'm sorry somebody got seriously hurt, but [Mr. Varhola] shouldn't have reached in his pocket. That's why I reacted to that threat,'' he said in his statement.
To the Varholas and their family members, Wesson said: ''They don't care what I say, but I have family and friends in the back [of the courtroom], and I'd like to say I love you all and I'm sorry for taking you through this nightmare.''
Common Pleas Judges Thomas A. Teodosio, Brenda Burnham Unruh and Robert M. Gippin heard the case and issued the death sentence after a mandatory hearing to consider whether the aggravated circumstances of the case outweighed the mitigating circumstances.
Teodosio, the presiding judge, said the panel decided unanimously that the death penalty was warranted.
When Teodosio informed Wesson that he has the right to an automatic appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court, the defendant — dressed in red-striped jail clothes and seated at the defense table — nodded his head in agreement.
Teodosio also informed Wesson that two appellate death-penalty attorneys will be appointed for him and that he has the right to obtain any documents in the case free of charge.