“Guilty.”
Thirteen times, Summit County Judge Amy Corrigall Jones read the word.
And 13 times, Eric Hendon offered no reaction to learning of his conviction in the New Year’s Eve 2013 slaying of a Barberton family.
But in the rows of courtroom benches and chairs behind him, emotion showed on tear-stained faces. Those tears turned into quiet sobs as the long, formal process of listing more than 40 charges and specifications reached the names of two murdered teens.
On April 19, the jury will return to begin the sentencing phase in the triple murder, with the death penalty on the table.
Hendon, 33, of Akron, was found to be the “principal offender” in the shooting deaths of John Kohler, 42; his son, David Carpenter-Kohler, 14; and David’s sister, Ashley Carpenter, 18; and the attempted murder of Ronda Blankenship, Kohler’s girlfriend, who was shot and stabbed in the face but survived.
Jurors will decide one of four options: death, life without parole, life with parole possibility after 30 years, and life with parole possibility after 25 years.
“We respect the jury’s decision and look forward to presenting a compelling case for life,” defense attorney Don Malarcik said after leaving the court.
As they gathered outside the courtroom after the verdict, John Kohler’s family was asked what sentence they preferred.
“I just want him off the streets so he can’t do this to another family,” said Edith Greathouse, mother and grandmother to the victims.
A half-dozen family members surrounding her nodded: “Just get him off the streets,” they repeated.
Blankenship, who was flanked by and comforted by two women during the reading of the verdicts, declined to comment on the outcome.
Michelle Rose, a cousin of John Kohler, indicated the courtroom tears were as much a sign of relief.
“Pins and needles all day,” she said, describing what it was like to wait for the phone call that the jury had reached a decision. “I felt very confident, but still very nervous.”
When the first “guilty” was read, the anxiety let go, she said.
“I’m happy,” Greathouse said. “I’m happy it’s over with.”
The shootings happened during a home-invasion robbery for a small amount of drugs and money.
The charges against Hendon included several counts of aggravated murder and aggravated robbery, as well as attempted murder.
Michael Hendon, 24, Eric’s younger brother, was convicted in August of complicity to commit aggravated murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole in the case.
In chilling accounts during both trials, Blankenship described how she was making the traditional New Year’s Eve meal of pork, sauerkraut and mashed potatoes when the two Akron brothers, both armed with handguns, burst into Kohler’s modest home at the corner of Seventh Street Northeast and Lincoln shortly after 6:40 p.m.
Moments after the door was kicked in, the invaders went after marijuana and about $3,000 in cash that Kohler had stashed away in a closet safe.
Trial testimony showed that both men fled the home after a six-minute rampage, then took the money and drugs and went to a party at a home two blocks away.
Prosecutors and police argued that Eric Hendon, and not his brother, was the shooter. Blankenship has consistently identified the shooter as the taller of the two men, which would be Eric.
Defense attorneys, though, questioned Blankenship’s ability to correctly remember what happened and pointed to a journal entry in which she identified Michael as the shooter.
Blankenship, who lost an eye in the assault and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, said during her emotional testimony last week that she mixed up the names.
Paula Schleis can be reached at 330-996-3741 or pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/paulaschleis.