Danny Lee Hill
On January 7, 1986, Hill waived his right to a jury trial, and on January 21, 1986, Hill stood trial before a court of three judges for the charges he faced in relation to the rape-murder of Raymond Fife.[1][2]
In Hill's confession, he pinpointed Combs as the principal offender, stating that Combs had first knocked Fife off his bicycle, held him in a headlock, and threw him onto the bike. Hill also stated that Combs was responsible for various acts of violence, including hitting Fife, choking him, and burning him with lighter fluid. While Hill did not admit to direct participation in the assault, he acknowledged staying with the victim while Combs left to retrieve items used in the attack.[3][1][4]
However, at trial, Hill's involvement in the sexual assault and murder was found to be more than what he admitted to in his statement, given that Dr. Curtis Mertz, a forensic odontologist, testified in court that there were bite marks found on the genitals of Fife, and the teeth marks were matched to the teeth of Hill. An eyewitness Donald Allgood testified that he saw both Hill and Combs coming out of the wooded field (where Fife's body was found), and he witnessed Hill tossing "something" into the woods. Detective Sergeant William Carnahan of the Warren Police Department corroborated Allgood's testimony and said that he found a broken stick, allegedly used by the killers to sexually abuse Fife, at the place where Allgood had seen the two men. Dr. Howard Adelman, the pathologist who conducted the autopsy, testified that the stick found by Detective Carnahan closely matched the size and shape of the opening in the victim's rectum. He compared the shape of the stick to a key in a lock. Three Warren Western Reserve High School Students also testified that they witnessed both Combs and Hill at the area where Fife disappeared; one had seen Combs pulling up the zipper of his blue jeans and another heard a child's scream.[1][5]
After being on trial for 11 days, Hill was found guilty of kidnapping, rape, aggravated arson, felonious sexual penetration and aggravated murder. On February 26, 1985, a mitigation hearing was held to determine whether Hill should receive the death penalty, and the panel agreed to issue the death sentence.[1][5][6]
On March 5, 1986, the court sentenced 19-year-old Danny Lee Hill to death for the most serious charge of aggravated murder. On top of the death sentence, the court imposed custodial sentences of ten to twenty-five years' imprisonment for both aggravated arson and kidnapping, as well as life imprisonment for both rape and felonious sexual penetration.[1][7] The judges cited that the brutality and cold-blooded nature of the murder were among the factors that made it appropriate to subject Hill to capital punishment.[8]
Execution
TBA
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- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedState v. Hill (1992) - ↑ "Hill waives right to trial by jury, seeks 3-judge panel in Fife case". The Vindicator. January 8, 1986.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedDanny Lee Hill, on death row for 37 years, has execution date set in four years - ↑ "Hill waives right to trial by jury, seeks 3-judge panel in Fife case". The Vindicator. January 8, 1986.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedSitting on Death Row: Danny Lee Hill - ↑ "Hill ordered to die for Fife's murder". The Vindicator. March 1, 1986.
- ↑ "Danny Hill must die, judges say". The Vindicator. March 1, 1986.
- ↑ "Brutality of the crime led to death sentence". The Vindicator. March 1, 1986.
