Jury convicts man of killing teen girl

A Summit County jury found Craig guilty of the 1995 kidnapping, rape and killing of her daughter, 13-year-old Malissa Thomas.

``It was hard listening to that day after day,'' said Merchant, 48. ``A lot of nights I'd go home from court, after hearing all that, and I couldn't sleep. But I won't have any problems tonight. And my daughter will finally rest in peace.''

Jurors next week will consider what sentence to recommend to Common Pleas Judge James Murphy. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Aug. 9.

Craig, 46, is already on Ohio's death row. He was convicted in 2004 of the kidnapping, rape and murder of 12-year-old Roseanna Davenport of Akron, who disappeared after leaving a friend's South Maple Street house in 1996.

Cold-case police detectives, with help from scientists using advanced techniques, connected Craig to both killings through DNA in 2003 and 2005.

Merchant said she wants jurors to recommend death.

Malissa's body was found inside an abandoned house on East Avenue, a tear frozen in her eye and remnants of the green rope she gnawed to free her wrists surrounding her lips.

She had been bound, raped, strangled and left to die in the cold of January. Craig's DNA was found in her vagina.

``I don't care how long it takes for the state to carry out the death sentence. It can be slow, just like my baby's death was slow,'' Merchant said. ``That's OK with me. Malissa and Rosie have gotten their justice.''

Jurors will be guided by capital punishment laws in effect in 1995. If jurors cannot agree on death, they can recommend a life sentence with parole eligibility after either 20 or 30 years. Murphy can accept the recommendation or reduce it.

Defense attorneys Donald Walker and Scott Rilley declined to comment until after the sentencing phase.

Craig showed no emotion as the verdicts were read. His elbow rested on a table and his hand propped up his jaw. He never looked at jurors.

The former Akron man and Army veteran has denied any involvement in either killing.

During a break in the trial last week, he remarked to reporters that prosecutors had proved nothing and spent more time showing evidence of the Davenport killing than the Thomas case.

Indeed, there was just one piece of direct evidence, albeit DNA, connecting him to the Thomas slaying. Prosecutors could not show he knew Thomas and there were no witnesses nor physical evidence showing Craig was inside the house where the Innes Middle School seventh-grader's fully clothed body was found a week after she disappeared.

A DNA expert testified that the odds that the semen found in the girl belonged to someone other than Craig were nearly one in 5 quintillion.

Defense attorneys tried to raise doubts about the DNA reliability, arguing that errors or cross-contamination could have occurred over the years. Assistant prosecutor Becky Doherty told jurors in closing arguments that the DNA could not be disputed, and that the defense could have paid for its own testing, but did not.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Phil Trexler can be reached at 330-996-3717 or "This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it!"

Discuss this article on the forums. (0 posts)