Meadville Tribune

Local News

Discussion

Add a comment on this story
August 24, 2012

District attorney will seek life sentence, not death penalty, in buried alive case

By Keith Gushard Meadville Tribune

MEADVILLE — Two young Cochranton area women accused of luring an Ohio woman to their Wayne Township home in May and killing her won’t face the death penalty if they are convicted of homicide in Crawford County Court of Common Pleas.

Crawford County District Attorney Francis Schultz said late Friday that the criminal homicide case against codefendants Ashley Marie Barber, 20, and Jade Nichole Olmstead, 19, both of 29558 Drake Hill Road, Cochranton, will be a first-degree murder prosecution.

But the facts of the case don’t support seeking the death penalty under Pennsylvania law, according to Schultz.

The two women are accused of luring Brandy M. Stevens, 20, of Beaver Township, Mahoning County, Ohio, to their home in Wayne Township in May, brutally beating her and burying her alive in the woods.

“After careful consideration of the law and the facts that have been uncovered in the investigation of this case, I have decided not to seek the death penalty against either defendant,” Schultz said in a statement issued Friday. “Although the allegations surrounding the murder of Brandy Stevens suggest that the attack that led to her death was brutal, those allegations alone are not sufficient to warrant the seeking of the death penalty under Pennsylvania law.”

Schultz said his office will seek first-degree murder convictions against Barber and Olmstead that carry a mandatory sentence of life in prison.

Under Pennsylvania law, a prosecutor may only seek the death penalty in a case of an alleged first-degree murder if at least one of 18 aggravating circumstances is present, said Schultz.

“In this case, there is no evidence to prove any of the death penalty’s qualifying aggravating circumstance beyond a reasonable doubt,” Schultz continued. “This decision was not one that was made lightly or without first consulting other prosecutors in my office and the Pennsylvania State Police.”

Schultz said he also met with Stevens’ family on Wednesday to review the case.

Barber and Olmstead are charged by Pennsylvania State Police with killing Stevens and burying her body in an approximately two-foot-deep grave near the residence Barber and Olmstead shared in Wayne Township, in southeastern Crawford County. The home is about five miles east of Cochranton.

Each woman is charged with one count each of criminal homicide, conspiracy to commit criminal homicide and tampering with physical evidence.

In testimony at the preliminary hearing for Barber and Olmstead on July 25, police alleged the women admitted to being involved in a homosexual relationship and that they lured Stevens to Wayne Township on May 17 and attacked and killed her. Olmstead allegedly had been involved in a previous abusive relationship with Stevens, according to testimony at the hearing.

The women allegedly admitted to beating Stevens with a shovel, cracking open the woman’s skull, choking her with a rope and placing Stevens in a shallow grave 22 inches deep, while Stevens was still alive, and burying her, according to testimony at the hearing.

Barber and Olmstead both allegedly told police that they burned Stevens’ shoes, some of Stevens’ personal possessions, and their own bloodstained clothing to cover their alleged crime, according to testimony in the hearing.

Both Barber and Olmstead are being held in the Crawford County jail in Saegertown without bond awaiting trial. They currently are scheduled to go on trial in the November term of Crawford County Court.



Keith Gushard can be reached at 724-6370 or by email at kgushard@meadvilletribune.com.

Text Only
Local News
Business Marquee
AP Video
Raw: Trucker Bumps I-5 Bridge Before Collapse Raw: Texas Deputy Shot by Colo. Suspect Honored Major Detours Following Wash. Bridge Collapse American Held in Grisly Czech Murders Raw: Jersey Shore Reopens for Summer UK-bound Pakistan Plane Diverted, 2 Men Arrested Officials: Tsarnaev Friend Linked to Slaying Obama:Sexual Assault Threatens Trust in Military Bridge Collapse Survivor: 'Rough Day' Jersey Shore Open for Business Raw: Memorial Day Flags Placed at Arlington New Wheelchair Lift Promises More Access First Person: Mom Discusses Famous Tornado Photo Raw Video: Washington State Bridge Collapse Boy Scouts Approve Plan to Accept Gay Boys
Hyperlocal Search
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide
Stocks