Democrat Trumbull County prosecutor also asks both Ohio Republicans and Democrats to join other states to pass death penalty law for predatory rapists of very young children
Miriam Fife and family will not need to go back to court and listen to experts; decision comes on heels of Pew Research poll showing support for Death Penalty growing
The Ohio 11th District Court of Appeals, in a ruling released today, affirmed the decision of a visiting judge in denying death row inmate Danny Lee Hill’s bid to file a second postconviction relief petition challenging his death sentence which again claimed he was intellectually disa
bled, a term that replaced “mentally retarded.”
In a decision written by 11th District Judge John J. Eklund: “(State law) is clear. A trial court is without authority to consider a second or successive petition for post-conviction relief unless there are facts on which the petitioner (Hill) must rely and which the petitioner was unavoidably prevented from discovering, or the U.S. Supreme Court has created a new federal or state right that applies retroactively. Neither circumstance adheres in this case based on the record before us.”
Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins applauded this latest decision, also noting the “long line” of federal and state courts which have denied Hill’s attempt to escape execution. Watkins stated that Hill’s victims – Miriam Fife and family – will not need to go back to court and listen to more experts.” He added: “This should end the litigation on Hill’s alleged low-IQ defense.”
The (11th District’s) decision comes on the heels of a new Pew Research survey showing the support of the death penalty is growing,” Watkins said noting the July 6-12, 2026, Pew poll shows 66 percent of Americans now favor the death penalty for people convicted of murder.
The Ohio Supreme Court on April 23, 2026, remanded the case, which was argued by the former Ohio Chief Deputy Solicitor General, and now Federal District Court Judge Michael Hendershot, back to the 11th District court. The unanimous 11th District court, led by Judge Eklund and joined by Judges Matt Lynch and Robert J. Patton affirmed visiting Judge Patricia Cosgrove’s 2023 decision denying Hill’s petition for relief because it was “untimely and successive.” The ruling stated there were no new facts that Hill was intellectually disabled, only a new opinion, advanced by the federal public defender’s office, based upon the old facts.
In her decision, Judge Cosgrove, in noting the delays in the case caused by the excessive appeals made by Hill, found that the trial evidence overwhelmingly supported Hill’s conviction for aggravated murder with the death penalty specification. Cosgrove also noted that the issue of intellectual disability “has been examined and re-examined… in several postconviction petitions and motions for a new trial. The evidence of Hill’s behavior before the age of 18 is not new evidence,” Cosgrove wrote in her 2023 decision.
Hill’s argument is based on the U.S. Supreme Court 2002 decision in the case of Atkins vs. Virginia that determined the Eighth Amendment’s bar against cruel and unusual punishment prohibits the imposition of the death penalty for “mentally retarded” persons.
Watkins further believes that Judge Cosgrove’s decision, as was those of the prior Ohio judges from the trial level through the state courts and the federal system that found Hill was fairly tried, convicted and sentenced to death for torturing, raping and murdering 12-year-old Raymond Fife in 1985, will be upheld. Watkins also noted that while a few judges in the minority disagree, there has not been any court finding Hill, who had malingered on various IQ tests, is intellectually disabled.
Hill was convicted and sentenced to death in 1986 by a three-judge panel of aggravated arson, kidnapping, rape, felonious sexual penetration and aggravated murder with capital specifications arising out of the September 1985 torture, rape, and murder of 12-year-old Raymond Fife of Warren.
Following Hill’s horrifying crimes, Hill gathered his wits, and on his own, went to the Warren Police Department seeking a reward, giving a statement, blaming others and misleading officers.
The Ohio Supreme Court first struck down Hill’s original appeal of his conviction and death sentence back in 1992. Later in 2003, after Hill filed his original Atkins petition, Judge Thomas Curran presided over the longest Atkins hearing in Ohio relating to Hill’s alleged intellectual disability. After an expert for the state and another expert for the court had determined that Hill was not intellectually disabled, Judge Curran rejected Hill’s claim, and Ohio’s high court in 2009 declined to accept Hill’s appeal.
An attempt by Hill to mount an Atkins claim in the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court was struck down in 2022, by a 9-7 vote after an en banc hearing argued by then Ohio Solicitor General and current 6th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge, Benjamin Flowers. And the U.S. Supreme Court followed by declining to review that 6th Circuit decision.
Those decisions led to Hill’s attorneys filing a motion in the local court seeking a second bid for relief under Civil Rule 60(B), which Ohio’s high court struck down in its April 2026 ruling remanding the case to the 11th District Court.
Raymond Fife’s mother, Miriam Fife – who was at all trial proceedings said she believes that “common sense shows that Hill kills, rapes children and women, lies and fakes bad on IQ tests; learning was never on his agenda!”
Watkins said he talked to Mrs. Fife this morning to inform her of the decision. Watkins said she was in good spirits and thankful to the 11th District Court.
“I also look forward not going to court anymore,” Mrs. Fife said. “I only will be going to his execution.” Danny Lee Hill’s execution is scheduled for July 18, 2029.
Prosecutor Watkins thanks all past Attorney Generals and Solicitor Generals of Ohio who have worked on this case in the state and federal appellate courts over several decades, including former Solicitor General’s Eric Murphy and Bejamin Flowers, who are presently federal appellate judges serving on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and current Solicitor General Mathura J. Sridharan. He especially thanks former Attorney General Dave Yost, former Solicitor General T. Elliot Gaiser and current Assistant Attorney General Stephen Maher who joined him and Assistant Prosecutor Charles L. Morrow of his office in pursuing justice for Miriam and her family. Watkins would would specifically like to recognize the excellent arguments presented by Stephen Maher before the Eleventh District Court of Appeals and Michael Hendershot before the Supreme Court of Ohio.
For more information, contact Guy M. Vogrin, investigator/public information officer for the Trumbull County Prosecutor’s Office at 330-675-2485.
‘This defendant is a dangerous career criminal with a history of hurting women. He needs to be incapacitated for as long as the law permits” – Gabe WIldman
A New Castle, Pa., man, convicted by a jury of three felonies connected to an assault in Liberty Township, received a consecutive, indefinite prison sentence from 10 to 13½ years Tuesday, August 4, 2026, from Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge Cynthia L. Westcott.
A Trumbull County jury on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, found Justin Fry-Starrett, 33, New Castle, Pa., guilty of felonious assault (F2), domestic violence (F3), and failure to comply with order/signal of police officer (F3).
Assistant Prosecutor Gabriel Wildman said he was pleased with both the jury’s verdict and prison sentence that ended the case that included a trial in late June before Judge Westcott. The verdict came after jurors deliberated for a little more than an hour.
During the trial, Wildman called two witnesses to the stand in addition to the female victim who had to be subpoenaed by the court to testify. Wildman said the victim had been reluctant to cooperate.
The case involved a Sept. 21, 2025, incident at a Liberty Township home where Fry-Starrett punched the female victim in the face. While on the stand, the victim refused to blame Fry-Starrett or say an attack even took place. During subsequent testimony from a Liberty Township officer and a Trumbull County sheriff’s sergeant in charge of the jail’s call stem, Wildman was able to use video and audio evidence to show that the victim on the night of the incident reported to authorities that Fry-Starrett beat her up causing her to lose a tooth. Testimony from the officer and his uniform camera showed Fry-Starrett was eluding the police officer in his vehicle after he was spotted in traffic on Belmont Avenue. The officer’s vest cam showed the officer in pursuit on Interstate 80 as the defendant was driving eastbound toward his mother’s home in Pennsylvania.
During cross examination of the defendant, Wildman showed Fry-Starrett had previous convictions for domestic violence and obstructing official business, which elevated the present domestic violence to a felony. Judge Westcott stated the failure-to-comply conviction required consecutive prison sentences due to the operation of law.
“This defendant is a dangerous career criminal with a history of hurting women. He needs to be incapacitated for as long as the law permits,” Wildman said. \
Wildman praised the work of the Liberty Police Department and the sheriff’s office in the investigation.
For more information, contact Guy M. Vogrin, investigator/public information officer for the Trumbull County Prosecutor’s Office at 330-675-2485.
Since this office last wrote the board in 2021, Fred Joseph has been busy re-offending by breaking rules or verbally abusing correction officers. This office views him as a portrait of a natural-born killer, a man who has, can, and will spew out hatred and violence without a moment’s notice. Prosecuting Attorney Dennis Watkins points out 27 incidents where he was found guilty of 46 violations. (see attached letter and prison infraction report)
“Clearly this man, after 43 years in prison with many rehabilitative program options, has decided to increase his rule violations at a record pace. This 60-year-old man is not slowing down, and his constant, verbal attacks of correction officers and minority groups is unbelievable.”
- Dennis Watkins writing to parole board on June 
15, 2026
AGE: 60 (BIRTH DATE: 10/20/1965)
INCARCERATED: Toledo Correctional Institution.
PAROLE HEARING: July 2026. He was last up for parole in 2021, when his request was denied.
SENTENCED: Joseph is serving 20-year-to -life sentence for June 1983 conviction of aggravated murder in the premeditated shooting death of Niles police officer John Utlak. Sentenced as a juvenile by the late Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge David McLain, Joseph and accomplice Randy Fellows were tried and found guilty before two different juries and prosecuted by Watkins himself.
THE CRIME: John Utlak and his partner Bob Ludt were investigating drug activity among the teen population of Niles. On the evening of Dec. 8, 1982, Utlak told his partner that he was going to meet some informants, Fred Joseph Jr., then age 17 and Randy Fellows, 18, in the parking lot of the Gibralter Steel Corp. in Mineral Ridge. Unknown to Officer Utlak, Joseph and Fellows had planned to kill and rob the officer and flee the state of Ohio. Upon arriving at the parking lot, Fellows remained in the car while Joseph got out to speak to Utlak. As Joseph approached the officer, he pulled out a gun and shot Utlak at close range in the right side of the head. Joseph and Fellows then robbed Utlak of $400, a watch, his service revolver, a two-way radio and shotgun. Fellows and Joseph then fled the state in Fellows’ mother’s stolen car, heading west on the interstate. The dead body of Utlak was found the next morning by plant workers. Shortly after midnight on Dec. 11, 1982, Joseph was arrested at a traffic stop in Wyoming, while Fellows was arrested later at a Cheyenne, Wyoming, motel.
"Please consider the overwhelming evidence and guilt in this matter, the character of the inmate and his astounding record of not learning from past mistakes and his constant spewing of hateful epithets and violence to others no matter who you are! Fred Joseph does not qualify to get in the return-to-society recycling bin of inmates – he is a safety hazard – he needs imprisonment until he dies because he has earned his punishment and society must be protected.”
- Prosecuting Attorney Dennis Watkins
Members of the public may submit comments about the potential parole of Fred Joseph Jr. Comments can be made through the ODRC website: https://drc.ohio.gov/systems-and-services/1-parole/parole-board-hearing-input
For more information, contact Guy Vogrin, investigator / public information officer, Trumbull County Prosecutor’s Office, 330-675-2485.
With some criminal offenders, treatment is NOT a societal option; only punishment and incarceration works, Watkins says
AGE: 36 (DOB 4/19/1990)
INCARCERATED: Ohio Reformatory for Women
SENTENCED: 15 years to life on convictions of two counts rape, three counts pandering sexual material with minor, and two counts pandering obscenity involving minors. Sentenced on Nov. 2, 2012, by former Trumbull County Judge W. Wyatt McKay.
PAROLE HEARING: August 2026 (her first hearing)
THE CRIMES: Cell phone videos showed both Felicia and her husband raping an eight-month-old female child during a visit at Trumbull County Children Services in April 2011. The acts were captured on Felicia Beemer’s cellphone, which also contained more than 500 images of child pornography. Also, both Felicia and her husband were convicted of raping an 18-month-old male relative while the couple was babysitting him. That offense was also captured on Felicia Beemer’s cellphone, evidence showed.
Prosecutor Dennis Watkins and the head of his Child Assault Division, Assistant Prosecutor Gabriel Wildman, have combined on a letter to the state parole board, opposing parole for Felicia Beemer. In the letter, the two attorneys talk about Beemer’s bad behavior while in prison:
“Her prison disciplinary record for the amount of time served is the worst Prosecutor Watkins has seen since taking office in 1984. She has been incarcerated in Ohio’s prison system for approximately the past 14 years, and Inmate Beemer has amassed a staggering 85 documented disciplinary infractions. A deeper dive into these records clearly illustrates that Felicia Beemer remains a violent sexual predator, who refuses to follow even the simplest of rules. It is not difficult to imagine the havoc she would undoubtedly wreak if she were to be turned loose especially when knowing that she is clear and present danger to others in prison!”
Among the many in-prison infractions include Beemer sexually assaulting another inmate during a program activity in January 2025. Other violations initiated by Beemer during the last few years include her many violent assaults – including a hit-for-hire on a sleeping inmate -- diverting or “cheek” controlled medications, faking seizures to manipulate staff, extorting or trading illicit and stolen property, and threatening and/or spewing hate speech to prison staff and other inmates. A total of 14 documented acts of violence against others while in prison. “Felicia Beemer is a corrections nightmare and monster child sex offender who needs incapacitation by incarceration until death, when she goes to a place where evil is greeted,” Watkins wrote. “The evidence unequivocally illustrates that Felicia Beember is a predator, child pornographer, pedophile, and a child rapist. She preyed on multiple children who trusted her. She preyed on an infant and toddler. She even had recorded herself having sex with a dog. She ensured that her crimes were captured on video so that her co-defendant and her could revisit, lust, and possibly revictimize these children at their leisure.” “…this case supports our view that prisons protect society from the Malevolent like her and that Beemer’s horrifying actions explains why democratic societies need life imprisonment or even the death penalty as a punishment… Felecia Beemer is an example of a non-recyclable person. You can’t change monsters into pets!”
Prosecuting Attorney Dennis Watkins and Assistant Prosecutor Gabriel Wildman
Members of the public may submit comments about the potential parole of Felicia Beemer. Comments can be made through the ODRC website: https://drc.ohio.gov/systems-and-services/1-parole/parole-board-hearing-input
For more information, contact Guy Vogrin, investigator / public information officer, Trumbull County Prosecutor’s Office, 330-675-2485.
Guilty infractions after guilty infractions in 2026, 2025 and 2024 … underscore the continuing dangerousness of this man…It is unimaginable that this man should be released from prison back to Trumbull County or anywhere else in this country or planet earth, Prosecutor Watkins says
AGE: 67(DOB 7/31/1958)
INCARCERATED: Marion Correctional Institution
SENTENCED: 18 years to life on convictions of murder, felonious assault and inciting violence. Sentenced on Nov. 10, 1994, by former Trumbull County Judge W. Wyatt McKay. Palma was convicted of the May 4, 1994, slaying of his wife Vivian Chancellor, 42.
PAROLE HEARI
NG: August 2026 (last hearing was in 2021)
THE CRIME: On May 4, 1994, Palma called Chancellor home from her job as prison guard at Trumbull Correctional Institution, saying her grandchild was ill. Earlier that day, Palma had been drinking and told a witness he was going to kick out Chancellor, because he had read letters to her from another man who wanted Chancellor to leave Palma. The same witness had observed a shotgun sitting up against the wall and told Palma not to do anything stupid. Later that day, Warren city police received a call from Palma stating he had just killed his wife. Officers went to the home where they found Ms. Chancellor slumped over in a chair with a fatal 12-guage shotgun wound to the head.
Prosecutors noted Palma’s propensity for anger by describing an incident at the Trumbull County jail as he awaited trial. He and another cellmate were told they had to move to another cell, and Palma threw chemicals in the faces of jail officers and bruised their arms.
While in prison, Palma displayed inappropriate behavior with a newly hired female staff member. Twice in 2014, Palma was involved in a physical altercation with another inmate. Prosecutor Dennis Watkins noted that Palma’s recent prison infraction record since his last parole hearing in 2021, has not improved.
“Guilty infractions after guilty infractions in 2026, 2025 and 2024 in prison underscore the continuing dangerousness of this man,” Watkins writes in his most recent letter to the parole board. “It is unimaginable that this man should be released from prison back to Trumbull County or anywhere else in this country or planet earth.”
While sitting in an April 2026 disciplinary session with prison authorities, inmate Palma was very agitated and started getting loud in making threats toward another inmate. Palma said: “I’m doing life, I don’t care. You (expletive). Don’t let me out, I will kill that dude. I got life. Don’t leave me here, I will kill the (expletive).”
Watkins also notes that his program training and community service activity has allowed Palma to be able to train dogs, plant flowers, do gardening and know something about “crayons to computers.” Watkins states: “Nevertheless, in reviewing his bad behavior history, Palma in my opinion, cannot escape his continuing record of being a con artist/sociopath when it comes to living with real people in the real world – his temper will always get in the way.”
Former Assistant Prosecutor Diane Barber wrote the board in 2007 that “Due to the fact that Mr. Palma has shown such propensity to violence and an inability to control his actions... We strongly recommend that you keep Mr. Palma incarcerated for the entire sentence imposed by the court.”
“So, whether it is our letters of 2007, 2016, or today, the Trumbull County Prosecutor’s Office and the surviving victim’s family consistently and strongly maintain the view that inmate Palma should serve his full life sentence to ensure adequate punishment and protect the public from future crime … I don’t believe I have ever witnessed a more fearless, daring, and highly creative approach to parole release by an inmate while being disciplined in prison than Palma. He is saying to corrections officials, parole me or I will kill a fellow inmate. He says he has nothing to lose if he kills in prison since he is serving a life sentence anyways. This jerk is in prison for brutally murdering a defenseless woman – and has been rehabilitated beyond belief with programs – yet they have not been effective, which means in my mind, Ignacio Palma, after 36 years, IS NOT SUITABLE FOR RELEASE ON PAROLE AT THIS TIME OR EVER.”
Prosecutor Dennis Watkins
Members of the public may submit comments about the potential parole of Ignacio Palma. Comments can be made through the ODRC website: https://drc.ohio.gov/systems-and-services/1-parole/parole-board-hearing-input
For more information, contact Guy Vogrin, investigator / public information officer, Trumbull County Prosecutor’s Office, 330-675-2485.