The woman who drove with Chad South to Burton Township in 2006 to murder Daniel C. Ott will spend the next 18 years in prison for her role in the botched murder-for-hire plot.
Mindie Mock Stanifer, who prosecutors said helped aid in the murder for drugs and money, was sentenced Tuesday afternoon after pleading guilty in May to one count of involuntary manslaughter and kidnapping, and two counts of obstruction of justice.
As part of her plea deal, one count of conspiracy, two counts of aggravated murder, two additional counts of obstruction of justice and another kidnapping charge were dismissed.
South was sentenced June 22 to 28 years to life in prison for pulling the trigger in Ott’s murder.
Prosecutors allege 60-year-old Joseph Rosebrook, of Florida, hired South to kill Daniel C. Ott, a convicted car thief and reputed Rosebrook associate, in retaliation for his role in convicting Rosebrook of attempted murder for hire in 2005.
While serving a 10-year sentence at the London Correctional Institution, prosecutors say Rosebrook put out the hit on Daniel C. Ott.
South was an inmate at the same state prison until March 2006 and had also spent time with Rosebrook in the Logan County jail.
But instead of killing Daniel C. Ott — who has never lived in Geauga County and would have been around 70 years old in 2006 — South invaded the Geauga County home of 31-year-old Daniel E. Ott and shot him.
Rosebrook is awaiting trial on July 18 while the trial of his brother, Jeffrey Carl Rosebrook, the alleged moneyman, is set for Aug. 15.
Geauga County Common Pleas Court Judge David Fuhry noted the underlying felony in the case against Stanifer was kidnapping, a major offense related to the murder.
“While you, Ms. Stanifer, were not the trigger person . . . you did participate in what appeared to be not a spur of the moment commission of involuntary manslaughter that was conceived moments ahead of time,” Fuhry said. “This was a studied effort; this appears to have been a deliberative-style method that involved more than just one person, but involved another person or persons, one of whom is the likes of Chad South.”
Fuhry called Ott’s murder a “scripted” event, making Stanifer more culpable for her actions.
The judge also said Stanifer’s obstruction of justice prolonged the agony of the Ott family, even though her initial obstruction did not occur until 2014, more than eight years after the murder.
Detectives found her in Florida in December 2014. She initially denied any involvement in the Ott murder and said she didn’t even know South. She later reached out to detectives in May 2015 and admitted her involvement, placing herself in Geauga County with South and another co-defendant, Alva Jacobs.
Prosecutors said Stanifer eventually was brought to Geauga County, where she filled in gaps, providing detectives with more answers of how Ott’s murder was committed.
“The defendant minimizes her involvement and attempted to play the state of Ohio as fools,” Geauga County Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer Driscoll wrote in the state’s sentencing memorandum. “She bragged to other inmates about how she was giving the bare minimum to detectives and using them to retain custody of her daughter.”
Stanifer ultimately backed out of every deal she made with prosecutors after being confronted with her lies, Driscoll said in the memorandum.
“To obstruct the investigation into a crime of this dimension is very serious,” Fuhry said, adding Stanifer had a second chance in December 2015.
“That was another opportunity to come clean and you didn’t come clean,” he said. “It took the dogged, persistent efforts of law enforcement to smoke this out and to get this out, and you never did really come clean.”
Fuhry said Stanifer has an extensive criminal record that predates and postdates Ott’s murder, including reckless operation of a motor vehicle, theft, possession of criminal tools, domestic assault, public intoxication, possession of marijuana, DUI, evading arrest, violation of probation, passing bad checks, possession of methamphetamine, driving under suspension and driving under a revoked license.
While Fuhry recognized Stanifer’s drug addiction drove most of the offenses, he said there was still a measure of culpability.
“So, there’s an extensive criminal record here which is hard to turn a blind eye to when it comes to sentencing,” said Fuhry.
“You say you’re on the road to better times, but all this time the devastation to the Ott family and circle of friends, acquaintances, they were left to wonder, ‘What happened? Why? Why did it happen? Who did it? Who were the perpetrators? Why would this occur?’” Fuhry said. “You’ve made a lifetime of bad choices, punctuated by crime.”
Fuhry then sentenced Stanifer to eight years in prison for involuntary manslaughter, six years for kidnapping and 48 months for obstruction of justice, for a total of 18 years. She was credited with 322 days served.
Earlier, Stanifer told Fuhry it would be easy for people to assume she was a bad or heartless person.
“I’m not. I do have a lot of sympathy for this whole situation; I think it’s a horrible situation,” she said. “There’s a lot of people that are suffering because of this situation, on both sides, and my heart breaks for that.”
She said some “good has come out of the situation,” explaining she has made friends with people who have helped strengthen herself and improve her relationship with God.
“I ask for mercy, if possible, so that I can showcase what I’ve learned,” said Stanifer. “Whatever happens, wherever I go, it’s not going to be for nothing. Wherever I go I’m gonna make as positive a situation as I can. I’m not going to turn back to the life that I used to live.”
She added, “I pray for forgiveness and I know the Lord forgives me, so that’s where my comfort is.”
But Driscoll told Fuhry that Stanifer has proven herself to be a “nonstop burden on society.”
“She’s an addict and she’s a manipulator,” said Driscoll. “Her life has been spent manipulating. Her life has been spent deceiving. Her life has been involved in criminal activity.”
Driscoll said the “situation” Stanifer referred to was Ott’s murder and the impact it has had on his family.
“Mercy wasn’t shown to them, as you continued living your life for the next 10 years. You lived your life committing more crimes, hurting more people, manufacturing meth, jumping from state to state,” Driscoll told Stanifer, adding she was not deserving of mercy.
“Mercy is not deserved,” she said. “Ownership has not been taken. Not at all.”
Driscoll asked Fuhry to sentence Stanifer to a maximum of 24 years in prison.
Leroy Ott, Daniel E. Ott’s father, told Stanifer he had no compassion for her.
“You had a chance to come clean with these detectives, who worked very hard, and you decided to make the choice you didn’t want to come clean,” he said. “You probably could have gotten a real light sentence if you cooperated, but you chose not to.”
Added Leroy, “You’ve made our life hell. You deserve the full sentence. My wife and I, our family, no compassion for you.”
Jacobs, who was pleaded not guilty in January to one count of obstructing justice, is expected to enter a change of plea Wednesday morning in Fuhry’s courtroom. His case is set for trial on July 12.