A Hocking County judge has rejected a suspect's motion to suppress interviews regarding the death of Victoria Schafer after a month and a half of consideration.
Jordan A Buckley,17, along with co-defendant Jaden Churchheus, 16, face charges of murder, an unclassified felony; involuntary manslaughter, a first-degree felony; and reckless homicide, a third-degree felony. Both have
pleaded not guilty.
The motion concerned interviews that were given by Buckley at Logan High School and Hocking Hills State Park on Oct. 10, approximately five weeks after Schafer was killed by a 74-pound log that authorities have said was pushed or thrown off of a cliff above Old Man’s Cave.
Buckley's Attorney, Bob Toy, argued in a
hearing on March 5. that statements Buckley made should be suppressed because law enforcement did not inform him he was a suspect in the case. Defense witnesses, including his mother Lisa Buckley, testified that they were told he was only being interviewed as a witness.
The defense argued that as he was unaware he was a suspect, he did not knowingly, willingly, and voluntarily waive his Miranda rights.
Hocking County Common Pleas Judge John T. Wallace denied the motion in an 11-page statement issued Monday.
A recording of the interview given at Logan High School shows that he was Mirandized before law enforcement allowed him to give statements, and that Buckley started talking before even being asked, leading investigators to interrupt to go over Miranda first.
"While this court would have been more comfortable if Law Enforcement had made some additional explanation as to Jordan's rights, this court does find in totality of circumstances that Jordan understood his rights, and his waiver of rights was voluntary," Judge Wallace wrote. "The warnings are intended to provide the suspect with the knowledge to make a knowing, intelligent, and voluntary decision to invoke or waive his rights - nothing requires him to make a wise decision."
Buckley also argued that he was in custody at the time of the interview and at Hocking Hills State Park when the interviews were given.
However, the court ruled that while Law Enforcement did not explain a citizen's right to end questioning at any time, Buckley was never restrained in any significant way, no threats were made, he was not physically intimidated, and the room not uncomfortable.
He was also offered water and the chance to go to the bathroom should he need to.
Buckley also stated in the video recording of the interview given at Logan High School that he would be "fine" with meeting investigators at Hocking Hills state park after a doctor's appointment he had that day for an arm injury to walk through the events of Sept. 2, when Schafer was killed.
Wallace notes that Buckley arrived at the park for the second interview with his parents and left with his parents. "Under the above circumstances, it is clear he was not in custody. This is true even if (Detective Lieutenant Dustin Robison of the Hocking County Sheriff's Office) would have requested an arrest warrant if he had not shown up at the park," said Wallace.
As such, the court states that Buckley was not entitled to a second Miranda warning.
Finally, Buckley contended that he should have been given the chance to take a polygraph test. While Wallace states that he found no legal precedent on this, polygraph tests are not generally admissible in an Ohio courts due to being unreliable. There is an exception to this if both parties agree to allow its admission
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