Saturday, October 16, 1999
Husband found guilty of wife's shooting
Defense called death a suicide, promises appeal
BY EARNEST WINSTON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Joseph Griffin sat motionless Friday as a jury said he was responsible for murdering his wife last year in their trailer home in Whitewater Township.
The eight-woman, four-man jury convicted Mr. Griffin of aggravated murder with gun specifications after deliberating for two days. The jurors declined to comment after the verdict.
As the verdict was read, Mr. Griffin, wearing a blue prison suit and tennis shoes, clutched the wooden table before him. As sheriff's deputies led him from the courtroom in handcuffs, Mr. Griffin said, “The Lord is coming soon.”
Mr. Griffin faces mandatory life in prison. He is to be sen tenced by Hamilton County Judge John O'Connor at 9 a.m. Friday.
His attorney, Robert Ranz, promised an appeal. “We're very disappointed with the verdict. We don't think the evidence was there,” Mr. Ranz said.
But Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen said the evidence convinced jurors of Mr. Griffin's guilt.
“The physical evidence didn't match his story; and one thing that I think is important — the defendant may lie, but the physical evidence doesn't,” Mr. Allen said.
“This was a case that boiled down to scientific evidence — DNA, firearms, gunshot residue and blood splatter. And our presentation of the physical evidence is what convinced the jury.”
Mr. Griffin, 41, has said he walked into his bedroom Sept. 2, 1998, his wife smiled at him and shot herself in the head. He called 911 and told dispatchers that his wife, Pamela, had committed suicide.
Later, Mr. Griffin told police that he loaded the .38-caliber revolver and left it in the bedroom before leaving. When he returned to the room, Mrs. Griffin, 30, shot herself, Mr. Ranz told jurors last week.
The defense attorney told jurors Mrs. Griffin was an unhappy, unstable woman who had threatened suicide before.
But prosecutors described Mr. Griffin, who did not work because of an injury, as an abusive, jealous and possessive husband.
Judge O'Connor ordered Mr. Griffin held in lieu of bond. He is being held at the Hamilton County Justice Center.
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