Defense attorneys called three witnesses Monday in the hopes of raising doubt about Eric Hendon’s guilt in the slayings of a Barberton man and two teens.
One attacked the reliability of GPS readings — Hendon was wearing a GPS ankle bracelet at the time of the shootings. The others questioned whether surviving victim Ronda Blankenship’s memory could be trusted with the drugs she was given in the hospital after she was shot in the face and the information she was exposed to after the 2013 shooting spree.
Dr. Seth Brownlee, associate dean for assessment in the College of Pharmacy at Northeast Ohio Medical University, testified about how the numerous drugs given to Blankenship in the week following the attack could have affected her ability to correctly recall what happened. Defense attorneys focused on one drug: Propofol, which slows activity in the brain.
“In my expert opinion, I think Propofol has the ability to impair memory,” Brownlee testified.
Attorneys Brian Pierce and Don Malarcik wrapped up their defense in less than a day, resting after their third witness concluded by late afternoon in Summit County Common Pleas Court Judge Amy Corrigall Jones’ courtroom. Jurors will hear closing arguments Wednesday morning and then will be sequestered for their deliberations.
Hendon, 33, is charged with aggravated murder and is facing the death penalty in the Dec. 31, 2013, shooting deaths of John Kohler, 42; his son, David Carpenter-Kohler, 14; and David’s sister, Ashley Carpenter, 18; and the attempted murder of Blankenship, Kohler’s girlfriend. The shootings happened during a home-invasion robbery for a small amount of drugs and money at Kohler’s home.
Michael Hendon, 24, Eric’s younger brother, was convicted in August for complicity to commit aggravated murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
The defense team’s first witness was Ben Levitan, a GPS expert from Raleigh, N.C., who analyzed a GPS report that tracked Eric Hendon’s whereabouts on the night of the shootings.
Levitan said his analysis found that Hendon was outside when the shootings happened. He based this on the large number of satellites that showed Hendon’s location during this time, which would have been lower if Hendon had been inside.
Assistant Summit County Prosecutor Dan Sallerson, however, in a cross examination that sometimes got testy, asked Levitan if his opinion would change if someone had seen Hendon in the home wearing the ankle bracelet.
“Yes, sir,” Levitan responded, looking puzzled.
Brownlee, the second witness, testified that Propofol has been shown in some cases to cause retrograde amnesia in which a person’s ability to recall events before taking the drug is negatively affected.
Sallerson pressed Brownlee on this point, though, saying that Propofol is used regularly without negative side effects. He asked Brownlee if his concerns would be alleviated if a person made similar statements before and after receiving the drug.
“Not completely,” Brownlee responded.
Pierce asked Brownlee if a person was attacked, took Propofol, was interviewed and gave different statements about the characteristics of his or her attackers, would this be consistent with memory impairment. Brownlee said it would.
The final defense witness was Harvey Shulman, a retired psychology professor from Ohio State University and an expert on eye-witness testimony. He said Blankenship’s memory of the incident may have been colored by media and social media and by the therapy she has undergone.
“She has likely formed a memory that includes information besides what she has experienced,” he said.
Assistant Prosecutor Teri Burnside, however, told Shulman that Blankenship has been consistent in her physical description of her attackers and that the taller of the two brothers — Eric — was the primary attacker. Burnside said this showed Blankenship’s “consistent memory” of the incident and who was responsible.
“Those are things she remembers from the incident, they don’t include any details other than height,” Shulman said.
A few family members and friends of both Eric Hendon and Kohler have been sitting in on the trial and now are hoping for different outcomes when the case goes to the jury.
Tana Griffin, a long-time friend of Hendon’s, believes her friend is innocent. She promised after court Monday to call Hendon in jail and told him she loves him. She is hoping he will be found not guilty.
“It’s hard,” she said. “I got faith with God.”
Edith Greathouse, Kohler’s mother, however, is equally certain of Hendon’s guilt. She is hoping he is sentenced to life in prison like his brother.
“I just want him off the streets, so he can’t do this to anyone else,” she said.
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705, swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com and on Twitter: @swarsmithabj.