Homicides: Hoffman expected to change plea Wednesday

Accused multiple-murder suspect Donald Hoffman will appear in Crawford County Common Pleas Court on Wednesday morning for a change-of-plea hearing.

Hoffman, 41, pleaded not guilty last year to the aggravated murder of four Bucyrus residents at the beginning of September – Billjack Chapman, Gerald Smith, Freelin Hensley and Darrell E. Lewis.

Hoffman is facing the death penalty in connection with the homicides, including two counts of aggravated murder per victim, one for taking the life of the person and the other for doing so in commission of another felony, in this case aggravated robbery.

The grand jury also indicted Hoffman on four counts of aggravated robbery and four counts of kidnapping, all first-degree felonies, and four counts of felonious assault, which are second-degree felonies. Hoffman also is charged with fifth-degree felony abuse of a corpse in regards to Smith.

As part of a plea deal, however, all charges except the aggravated murder counts would be dropped, with the death penalty also dropped in exchange for a plea of guilty to the aggravated murder counts. Hoffman would face four consecutive life sentences instead, according to Crawford County Prosecutor Matthew Crall.

"I've talked with all the family members. We even had some people fly in. I think the biggest issue is a plea allows closure. It severely limits any appeals. I think most of the victims' families remember the Kevin Keith case, and I think they know what those family members went through," Crall said.

Keith was convicted of killing three people at Bucyrus Estates in 1994, and was sentenced to death, which was commuted to life in prison by then-Gov. Ted Strickland in 2010.

"There are still appeals on that, I received something just the other day where Keith had filed another appeal and was quickly denied. The state attorney general's office handles a lot of that. There are always people in prison filing appeals, but when you have a death penalty case there are a lot more appellate rights," Crall said.

"The victims' families – like most people their opinions on the death penalty are varied. Those were all things we took into consideration. It was very important they were allowed input on that."

Hoffman is being defended by attorneys Robert and Rolf Whitney, of Mansfield. His jury trial had been scheduled to begin Jan. 20 under Judge Russell B. Wiseman.

Hoffman's hearing is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Wednesday in Common Pleas Court, with members of the victims' families expected to make statements.

thill3@nncogannett.com

419-563-9225

Twitter: @ToddHillMNJ