A judge has ruled that prosecutors can present evidence that Gina Battaglia conspired to murder Randy Scheffield in 2011.
In a ruling Tuesday, Geauga County Common Pleas Court Judge David Fuhry said the state of Ohio had provided “sufficient independent evidence” to support an inference that Battaglia conspired with Doretta Scheffield to kill her husband.
However, in his eight-page ruling, Fuhry also granted a defense motion to exclude at Battaglia’s Jan. 12 trial statements Doretta made to a jailhouse informant implicating Battaglia in Randy’s murder. Those statements were not made “during the course and in furtherance of the conspiracy.” Instead, they appear to “simply recount . . . how the plan developed and how it was executed.”
But Fuhry left the door open to admitting some of Doretta’s statements to the informant if prosecutors could show which statements were made in “an effort to avoid detection of this murder.”
The independent proof of a conspiracy between Battaglia and Doretta that Fuhry found consisted of the following circumstantial evidence:
- Testimony from Geauga County Sheriff’s Office Detective Juanita Vetter that cell phone analysis revealed Battaglia’s cell phone moved at 11:39 a.m. and 1:20 p.m. on Dec. 27, 2011, the day of Randy’s murder, when Battaglia claimed to have been home all day.
- Surveillance photo of a vehicle that appears similar to Battaglia’s traveling through the intersection of state routes 44 and 87 at 7:30 a.m. on Dec. 27, heading toward the Scheffield residence.
- Battaglia having confided to a friend that things would be better for her without Randy.
- An envelope Battaglia turned over to law enforcement long after the investigation stalled contained a note apparently left by Doretta to Randy on the day of the murder.
- Battaglia called Doretta three times on the day of Randy’s murder, just after Doretta left Battaglia’s residence, and did not leave text messages which was her practice.
Fuhry said while Doretta’s statements to the jailhouse informant, Shannon Badalamenti, were inadmissible at Battaglia’s trial, those statements enhanced the “persuasive effect” of the other circumstantial evidence.
“Doretta Scheffield told Shannon Badalamenti things that corroborate what law enforcement learned or deduced, or which coincide with statements (Battaglia) made,” Fuhry said. “At 17 min., 40 sec., of the recording (of Badalamenti’s interview by a sheriff’s office detective) Doretta indicates (Battaglia’s) phone was detected on Dec. 27, 2011, near the Scheffield home and not (Battaglia’s) own home. This is consistent with Detective Vetter’s testimony.”
The judge added, “Shannon also relates Doretta’s version of how the murder was staged, and executed, inclusive of many details. The presence of both at (Battaglia’s) house for a large part of the day of the murder smacks of an effort to provide each with a joint alibi.”
Doretta, 64, Battaglia, 31, and David T. “Tig” Rowles, 34, were all arrested March 26, 2015, and charged in connection with Randy’s murder. Rowles is Doretta’s son and the boyfriend of Battaglia and father of her child.
Randy, 53, who owned Scheffield Lawns, a Newbury Township landscaping business, was found unconscious in his bed on Dec. 27, 2011. It was later discovered he had been shot in the back of the head by a small caliber gun.
In November, Fuhry sentenced Doretta to 25 years to life in prison after she was convicted of aggravated murder, murder and tampering with evidence.
On Tuesday, prosecutors also dismissed all charges against Rowles.
“Based upon developments in the case since the grand jury returned the indictments, including some additional information we obtained, we don’t believe that we could prove the allegations against Rowles beyond a reasonable doubt,” Geauga County Prosecutor Jim Flaiz said.
“Circumstances have changed somewhat and we are focusing our prosecution efforts going forward on Miss Battaglia,” he added.