High court dismisses McCarley murder appeal

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by Andre Clayton

Reporter

Columbus -- The Ohio Supreme Court has denied the appeal of former Northfield Center resident Willard S. McCarley, who was convicted last year for the second time in the 1992 death of Twinsburg Township resident Charlene Puffenbarger.

His first conviction was overturned in 2006.

In a report released June 18, the state's high court listed McCarley's appeal under "Appeals not accepted for review," and dismissed it.

According to Chief Justice Tomas J. Moyer, the appeal did not raise any "substantial" points that would have caused a reason for approval of a review.

McCarley's attorney, Kelly Curtis of the Ohio Public Defender's Office, filed the notice of appeal March 31 stating McCarley's reasons for the appeal.

Curtis said she is disappointed with the state Supreme Court's decision, but will meet with McCarley to see what his next step will be.

McCarley's case was a discretionary appeal, meaning the Ohio Supreme Court had the right not to review it, said Ohio Supreme Court spokesperson Chris Davey.

McCarley's case fell under the discretionary appeal label because it was not a case that caused conflict between lower courts' decisions, a capital murder case, an appeal from the Ohio Industrial Commission, an appeal from the Public Utility Commission or an appeal from the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals, according to Davey.

According to court documents, McCarley's defense counsel claimed his conviction was based on hearsay testimony and insufficient evidence.

In 2006, 2,407 appeals were filed with the high court and 276 appeals, less than 12 percent, were accepted, according to Davey.

Northfield man had been seeking third trial

McCarley was convicted in January 2007 of aggravated murder and was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years. He is being held at the Mansfield Correctional Institution.

On Feb. 13, the Ninth District Court of Appeals confirmed McCarley's January 2007 conviction, rejecting claims that the common pleas court erred by allowing hearsay testimony and that there was insufficient evidence for a guilty verdict.

His first trial occurred in February 2005, when McCarley was convicted of aggravated murder. But on appeal, the Ninth District Court overturned that conviction in 2006, sending the case back to the common pleas court for a retrial.

Police arrested McCarley in 2004 after Summit County Sheriff's deputies used DNA evidence to reopen the 1992 Puffenbarger murder investigation, 12 years after her death.

E-mail: aclayton@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3172