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Stow woman’s murder conviction upheld
TRACEY BLAIR
Legal News Reporter
Published: February 7, 2017
A Stow woman convicted of stabbing her roommate to death does not deserve a new trial, the 9th District Court of Appeals recently ruled.
Roxanne Buck was convicted of murder and tampering with evidence after a jury trial in Summit County Common Pleas Court.
The body of 21-year-old Michelle Johnson was found hidden in a shed behind their home on March 15, 2014.
Buck was sentenced to 18 years to life in prison.
On appeal, Buck argued the trial court erred by denying her motion for a mistrial after the state showed a “gruesome and repetitive” PowerPoint presentation with the victim’s autopsy photos.
Appellate Judge Julie Schafer disagreed in her 3-0 opinion.
“Although some of the photographs in question are graphic, we determine that these photographs are more probative than prejudicial in at least three respects,” Judge Schafer wrote. “First, the images aided the chief medical examiner during her testimony and allowed the jury to better understand the medical examiner’s testimony. Secondly, the photographs helped prove the murderer’s intent.
“ … The medical examiner testified that the victim sustained 32 stab and incised wounds, thus demonstrating that she was purposely killed. Lastly, the State explained that it showed the photographs, in part, to prove the identity of the killer, as the stab wounds to the victim could help explain why Buck had cuts on her hands in the immediate wake of the murder.”
At trial, Buck’s former manager at Burger King testified that Buck was scheduled to work the night shift on March 14, 2014 but called off because she had cut her hand with a knife while at home.
The appellate court also rejected Buck’s argument that the prosecutor made improper closing remarks by encouraging “the jury to recognize that Buck’s admission to the tampering with evidence charge was merely a ploy to convince the jury that she was being truthful about not murdering her roommate.”
In addition, Buck claimed both her trial lawyer and original appellate counsel were ineffective by failing to advise her that the speedy trial time waiver related back to the date of arrest instead of when she signed the waiver.
Buck argued her right to a speedy trial was violated since it took nearly seven months to try her, and that she did not knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily waive her right to a speedy trial.
Ninth District judges Beth Whitmore and Jennifer Hensal concurred.
The appellate judges found sufficient evidence to support the guilty findings.
One of the state’s experts testified that shoeprints found in the mud near the victim’s body appeared to be made from Buck’s shoes.
In addition, bloodstains were found in numerous locations of the bottom floor of the home, where Buck lived by herself. DNA profiles from bloodstain swabs were consistent with either Buck or Johnson.
The case is cited State v. Buck, 2017-Ohio-273.