Police chief testifies in Randall Ross murder case

PORT CLINTON — Although Randall Ross’ death penalty murder trial won’t start until Nov. 30, a police witness placed him at the bloody scene Thursday in open court.

Jody Hatfield, Carroll Township’s police chief, testified in a special deposition because he’s currently undergoing medical treatment for cancer. He was the first officer at the scene of the shooting in March 2013.

Ross is charged with the murder of his estranged wife, Amy Ross, 43, at a Carroll Township home. He will stand trial for two counts each of murder, aggravated murder, aggravated burglary and one count of kidnapping in Ottawa County Common Pleas Court. The trial is scheduled to last up to 12 days.

Ross is accused of storming into a farmhouse where Amy Ross was staying and fatally shooting her while her niece and sister were in the home. After shooting his estranged wife, Ross then shot himself twice in the head in botched suicide attempts, authorities allege.

The criminal trial will come more than a year after his Amy Ross’ family won a $1.5 million wrongful death judgment against him in March 2014. They alleged Ross was abusive to his wife and that she was staying with her sister because she had left him.

Hatfield testified he was in his office when he first heard the call that two people had been shot. It took him only two to three minutes to arrive at the scene.

The first thing Hatfield noticed was Ross walking, pacing back and forth, between two vehicles. Hatfield said he knew who Ross was prior to the incident, having had casual conversations about dogs and hunting, “nothing unpleasant” up to that point.

When Hatfield exited his vehicle, he saw that Ross had suffered severe trauma to the face and was “bleeding profusely.”

Hatfield drew his sidearm and commanded Ross to go the ground. Hatfield said Ross did not immediately comply and was mumbling inaudibly.

Eventually, Hatfield said, Ross rolled up a makeshift pillow out of a coat or shirt and laid his head down on the ground.

Concerned about the shooting call, Hatfield checked both Ross and the surrounding area for a weapon but did not yet find one.

Hatfield proceeded to the residence and noticed the door had been kicked in. Upon entering, he saw the victim’s sister, Andrea Swope, of Oak Harbor, and Swope’s daughter.

Hatfield testified that both were screaming, crying and had a “look of fear.”

He then asked where the second victim was and Swope indicated upstairs. As he progressed, Hatfield was able to follow a trail of blood left on the stairs and handrail, eventually leading to a body in an upstairs room on the right.

Hatfield checked for a pulse on the woman, later identified as Amy Ross, and when none was found, he again looked for a weapon.

Though he could not find the weapon initially, Hatfield did note a bullet hole in a window. It wasn’t until going back downstairs and asking the witnesses about the gun that Swope told him it was near the other window.

Hatfield then found a semiautomatic .40 caliber Ruger pistol on an open window sill in the upstairs room, where it was covered behind a blowing curtain caused by the windy day, he said.

The gun was jammed by what Hatfield referred to as a “stove pipe,” which means a spent shell casing from a fired bullet was not fully ejected and got stuck between the gun’s barrel and slide. This prevented the gun’s semiautomatic functionality, and it could not be fired again until the jam was cleared.

While wearing rubber gloves, Hatfield said he was able to clear the shell casing and empty the pistol, rendering the firearm safe.

With other assistance eventually arriving at the scene, they were able to help Hatfield then secure the perimeter.

jstinchcom@gannett.com

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Twitter: @JonDBN