Hamm: "I deserve to be put to death"
LANCASTER - Though justice has been served, it is likely Terri Jo Hamm's family will never know her final resting place.
Hamm himself said in court Friday that he doesn't remember where he disposed of her body.
Jeffrey "Scott" Hamm admitted to killing his wife, Terri Jo Hamm, Friday in the Fairfield County Court of Common Pleas. Hamm pleaded guilty to murder, an unspecified felony level, abduction and gross abuse of a corpse, both fifth-degree felonies, and three counts of tampering with evidence, all third-degree felonies.
According to statements made by prosecutor Gregg Marx during the proceedings, Hamm is thought to have held his wife against her will in the basement of their shared home on Jan. 26, 2015. It is suspected that he strangled her with a belt and kept her body in the basement bathroom for several days.
Hamm then cleaned the house, removed the murder weapon used to strangle his wife and disposed of her and her personal belongings. These actions, according to Marx, resulted in the tampering with evidence charges. Hamm was also charged with gross abuse of a corpse for dismembering the body, something he denied in his statements in court.
"She is in one piece. She is not dismembered," Hamm said during the hearing.
The body of Terri Jo Hamm has never been found. Her husband maintained that he has been committed to finding his wife's body since he first reported her missing to the police on Jan. 31, 2015. He claimed in court that he has nothing to gain from keeping the location of the body from the family.
"We will never know exactly what happened," Marx said.
Hamm was indicted by a grand jury in March 2015 on 12 charges: two aggravated murder, two murder, one first-degree kidnapping, two first-degree aggravated robbery, a second-degree robbery, three third-degree tampering with evidence and a fifth-degree gross abuse of a corpse. The case was originally set to go to trial June 14.
Hamm's defense team successfully suppressed a confession after showing that Hamm did not receive an attorney when he first asked for one.
"This is what Scott has wanted all along," Hamm's attorney, Andrew Stevenson, said of the plea.
Stevenson continued, saying that Hamm's two goals were to plead guilty and to find his wife's body. He also added that recorded calls from inside the jail indicate that Hamm wanted to locate his wife and that the act was not premeditated. Hamm said in court that he "snapped" and cannot remember killing his wife.
Hamm also expressed his remorse for the killing, saying directly to the families, "I'm truly, truly sorry for this. Not for me, but for the grandkids."
Judge Richard E. Berens considered Hamm's two previous felony convictions, five times on probation and total criminal history in his sentence. Hamm was sentenced to 15 years to life for the murder charge, as well as 13 years on the other charges, all to be served consecutively.
He was also ordered to have no contact with Terri Jo Hamm's two children and any other immediate family members unless they initiate contact through the court.
Several family members made statements before sentencing, stating that she did not deserve her fate. They also appealed directly to Hamm for the location of Terri's body.
"I'm glad he owned up to what he did. We wish there was a body and hopefully the family can start to heal," said Nicki Green, Terri Jo Hamm's sister-in-law, after the hearing.
Terri Jo Hamm's children said this is just the beginning of their healing process.
Hamm will serve the remainder of his current prison sentence, 16 months for two charges, aggravated possession of drugs and possession of heroin, both fifth-degree felonies, before serving the sentences given Friday.
tthurston@lancastereaglegazette.com
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Twitter: @tristathurston