Gregory McKnight

Gregory McKnight
McKnight on death row
Born
Gregory B. McKnight

(1976-11-14) November 14, 1976 (age 48)
United States
Conviction(s)Aggravated murder
Murder
Kidnapping
Receiving stolen property
Aggravated robbery
Complicity
Criminal penaltyDeath
Details
Victims3
Span of crimes
1992–2000
CountryUnited States
State(s)Ohio
Date apprehended
December 9, 2000
Imprisoned atChillicothe Correctional Institution

Gregory B. McKnight (born November 14, 1976) is an American serial killer who was convicted killing two people whose bodies he hid on his property in Vinton County, Ohio, between May and November 2000. This followed his release from prison after killing a man in Columbus in 1992 when McKnight was only a teenager. McKnight was sentenced to death in 2002 and is currently awaiting execution.[1]

Early life

Gregory McKnight was born November 14, 1976. He was raised in Queens, New York.[2]

Murders

In 1992, McKnight, then 15, robbed and fatally shot a man in Columbus, Ohio. He was arrested and convicted under a juvenile court and sentenced to serve a short sentence at the Circleville Youth Center.[2] He was released in 1997 and later married a woman named Kathryn, who had worked at the Youth Center.[2]

On May 13, 2000, McKnight abducted 20-year-old Gregory Julious, an acquaintance of his, and killed him. He then dismembered his body and hid it in his yard.[3] Six months later, on October 11, McKnight and two acquaintances broke into a home and stole several firearms.[4] On November 3, McKnight abducted 20-year-old Kenyon College student Emily Murray, a co-worker of his at a restaurant, and he left work just minutes after Murray did.[5] He caught up with Murray and kidnapped her, taking her to his house and fatally shot her once in the head. He wrapped her body with a carpet and hid it in his trailer.

A month later, Gregory and Kathryn McKnight were arrested when Murray's car was found in their driveway. In a further search of their property, they found Murray's decomposed body in McKnight's trailer. They also found bones that matched those of Julious.[6]

Trial

Kathryn McKnight was released from police custody once police ruled out her involvement in the homicides.[7] Shortly before Gregory McKnight's trial, three locals trespassed on his former property and reportedly stole a few items. The trespassers, Rosalee Jackson, Kenneth R. Jackson, and Jeffrey A. Jackson, were each indicted on a misdemeanor count of criminal trespassing and theft.[8]

Since McKnight's trial was due to occur in Vinton County, which held around 13,000 residents, Ohio judge Jeffrey Simmons briefly ruled out the death penalty in the trial due to Vinton County lacking enough money to guarantee McKnight a fair trial.[9] The nevertheless proceeded on October 1, 2002. Despite the argument about the cost of a fair trial, McKnight still faced a death sentence if convicted. To convince the jury of McKnight's guilt, prosecutors collected items previously seized from his residence; a shovel, a brush cutter, an axe, and a hunting knife were compared to marks of Julious' bones, but the shovel was ruled out, and the other items were inconclusive. Due to uncertainty over how Julious was killed, prosecutors decided not to seek the death penalty for his murder. They did seek the death penalty for Murray's murder since they knew he had shot her once in the head.[10]

At the end of the trial, after less than an hour of deliberating, McKnight was convicted of all charges: murder, aggravated murder, kidnapping, aggravated robbery, receiving stolen property, and complicity. The jury sentenced him to death for the aggravated murder charge, life imprisonment for the murder charge, ten years for the kidnapping charge, eight years for the complicity charge, and 1+1⁄2 years for receiving stolen property.[11]

McKnight arrived on Ohio's death row following his sentencing. In 2015, McKnight volunteered for execution, saying he wanted to die for his crimes.[12] He later recanted that statement.[13]

Allegations of racial bias

During a hearing in 2005, McKnight's attorney, a state public defender named Robert Lowe, argued that there was racial bias in the state's decision to not charge McKnight with kidnapping Julious, who was black. The justification the state gave for charging McKnight with kidnapping Murray, who was white, was that McKnight "did not release [Murray] in a safe place unharmed." Attaching kidnapping charges to Murray's murder allowed the state to seek the death penalty against McKnight, as kidnapping served as an aggravating circumstance that justified capital murder charges. Despite elements in Julious's case being nearly identical, the state chose not to seek the death penalty for Julious's murder. Judge Paul Pfeifer oversaw the hearing and questioned the state's decision to not only charge McKnight with only kidnapping his white victim and not his black victim, given that the elements in Julious's case were similar to the elements in Murray's case, but to also charge McKnight with kidnapping at all, given that both victims were last seen alive outside of Vinton County. However, eight months later, the Supreme Court of Ohio upheld McKnight's conviction by a 6–1 vote, with Pfeifer dissenting.[14]

In 2020, McKnight alleged racism during his trial and claimed white jurors had been heard making racial slurs.[15]

McKnight is awaiting execution at Chillicothe Correctional Institution.[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ Kirran Syed (October 15, 2002). "McKnight ordered to die". Chillicothe Gazette. p. 1. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c "Found body is identified as a missing student". Associated Press. December 14, 2000. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  3. ^ Cassandra Johnston (October 8, 2002). "Forensics hint at guilt". Chillicothe Gazette. p. 10. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  4. ^ Johnston, Cassandra (April 20, 2001). McKnight pleads not guilty. Chillicothe Gazette.
  5. ^ Cassandra Johnston (October 4, 2002). "No alibi provided by wife". Chillicothe Gazette. p. 1. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  6. ^ "Man charged in deaths of two". Associated Press. March 24, 2002. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  7. ^ Cassandra Johnston (October 4, 2002). "No alibi provided by wife". Chillicothe Gazette. p. 10. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  8. ^ "Locals arrested for trespassing, theft on McKnight property". Chillicothe Gazette. July 2, 2002. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  9. ^ Jonathan Bandler (August 10, 2002). "Cost cited in ruling out death penalty". The Journal News. p. 1. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  10. ^ Mark Williams (October 1, 2002). "Trial begins for man charged in two slayings". The Times Recorder. Associated Press. p. 3. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  11. ^ a b "Inmate Information". Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  12. ^ Michael Sangiacomo (October 3, 2015). "Death row inmates like Gregory McKnight who asked to die". Cleveland.com. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  13. ^ "Kenyon student's killer drops request to volunteer for death". The Columbus Dispatch. November 11, 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  14. ^ Welsh-Huggins, Andrew (2009). No Winners Here Tonight: Race, Politics, and Geography in One of the Country's Busiest Death Penalty States (1st ed.). Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press. pp. 73–74. ISBN 9780821418338.
  15. ^ Andrew Welsh-Huggins (October 1, 2015). "Ohio killer alleging racism-tainted jury seeks new trial". Associated Press. Retrieved July 21, 2022.