 |
|
|
|
|
February 17,
2008 "Beacon staff wins state
photo awards"
Click to enlarge
December 30,
2007 "'07 Favorites" Akron
Beacon Journal favorite photos
for 2007.
Click to enlarge
December 30,
2007 "Top ten local events for
2007" Article scanned in.
Click to enlarge
December 25,
2007 "Wrongful convicted pals
happy with work, love" Article
scanned in.
 Click
to enlarge
06/17/2007
A hefty price
for freedom
Tracey Read/TRead@News-Herald.com
Battle for
compensation a huge legal
challenge for the wrongfully
convicted. Imagine being
locked up in prison for a crime
you did not commit.
Bob Gondor and
Randy Resh lived that nightmare
for 161/2 years after being
convicted...[Click
here for entire article]
06/07/2007
Finding freedom, 16 years later
Betsy Scott
BScott@News-Herald.comTwo
Mantua men discuss prison life
after being cleared of murder
charges
For 161/2 years, Bob Gondor
had the same thought every day
when he woke up in prison. "I do
not belong here," he said. From
the first moment that he and
childhood friend Randy Resh,
then both 26, were [Click
here for entire article]
Posted on Wed, Jun. 06, 2007
Portage men plan new fight
Gondor, Resh take
time to relax before filing suit
By Ed Meyer Beacon Journal staff
writer
SHALERSVILLE
TWP. - At 43, Randy Resh and Bob
Gondor both take pleasure in
displaying the official symbol
of their newly found freedom. It
is none of the multitude of
papers they signed after [click
here for entire article]
16-year prison ordeal ends
Portage retrial frees man convicted of murder in 1990
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Jim Nichols
Plain Dealer Reporter
Ravenna- A dozen Portage County residents Wednesday gave
back to Randy Resh what had been taken away from him 16½ years earlier:
his freedom and his life. Shortly before 10:30 a.m., a Common Pleas
Court jury announced it had found Resh, 43, not guilty of a crime for
which he had been wrongly convicted and [click
here for entire article]
04/19/2007
No longer a killer
David W. Jones/DJones@News-Herald.com
Mantua resident found not guilty after spending16 years
in prison in connection with death of Portage woman. A seven-man,
five-woman Portage County jury Wednesday found a Mantua man not guilty
of murder and attempted rape of a woman whose body was [click
here for entire article]
Randy Resh found not guilty of Nardi murder after 16
years in prison
By
Marci Piltz
April 19, 2007
Record-Courier staff writer
Tears of joy and long overdue sighs of relief filled a
Portage County courtroom Wednesday morning after Randy Resh was found
not guilty in the 1988 murder of Connie Nardi. "I never thought this day
would come," said a tearful Resh, 43, who spent 16 years in prison
following his first trial for Nardi's death in 1990. Ecstatic friends
and family celebrated [click
here for entire article]
Portage
prosecutor won't seek retrial
Saturday, April
28, 2007
James Ewinger
Plain Dealer
Reporter
Freedom was just
outside Bob Gondor's garage door
Friday morning but it wasn't
official -- or even known
to him -- until
a friend found two obscure Latin
words on a Portage County Web
site.
The words were [click
here for entire article]
Prosecutor drops
case against man who served 16
years in prison
RAVENNA, Ohio
(AP) — Charges were dropped
Friday against a man who served
more than 16 years in
prison for a
woman's beating death.
Robert Gondor,
43, was convicted in 1990 in the
murder and attempted rape of
Connie Nardi, a young
mother of two.
The Ohio Supreme Court
overturned his conviction in the
1988 crime last December on the
grounds that
defense lawyers failed him.
Last week,
Gondor's longtime friend Randy
Resh, 43, was acquitted in his
retrial. Resh also had served
more than 16
years in prison.
Justice Paul
Pfeifer said the men presented
credible evidence their
convictions should be thrown
out.
The convictions
of the men, both originally from
nearby Mantua, were largely the
result of the testimony of a
co-defendant,
Troy Busta, 39, who is serving a
life term.
Resh had been
sentenced to up to life in
prison and Gondor to up to 51
years.
Ravenna is about 35 miles
southeast of Cleveland.
Posted on Sat,
Apr. 28, 2007
`WE NEVER GAVE
UP'
By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal
staff writer
RAVENNA - At
11:40 Friday morning, Bob Gondor
and Randy Resh -- hands tucked
into the front pockets of their
blue
jeans -- walked side by side
from the front [click
here for entire article]
Posted on Fri,
Apr. 27, 2007
Charges dropped
against Gondor
By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal
staff writer
RAVENNA - The
Portage County Prosecutor's
Office this morning dismissed
all charges against Bob Gondor
in connection with the
1988 murder of
Connie Nardi.
In December, the
Ohio Supreme Court vacated the
convictions of Gondor and his
lifelong friend, Randy Resh, and
ordered new trials
for the men.
On April 18,
after four weeks of retrial
proceedings, a Portage County
jury found Resh not guilty of
murder and attempted rape in the
Nardi slaying.
Resh and Gondor,
both 43, had spent more than 16
years in prison for the crime.
They were convicted in separate
trials in 1990
based on the
testimony of the first man
charged and convicted in the
case, Troy Busta of Hiram.
After a plea
bargain with authorities to
avoid the death penalty, Busta
was the prosecution's star
witness -- and its only
eyewitness
to the crime --
at the original trial of the two
men.
Portage County
Prosecutor Victor V. Vigluicci
was not immediately available
for comment, but an order
dismissing the charges
against Gondor
was posted on the county's
Common Pleas Court Web site.
Gondor was
convicted of involuntary
manslaughter, kidnapping and
obstructing justice. He was
sentenced to prison for 10 to 25
years for the manslaughter
and kidnapping charges and 18
months for the obstruction
charge.
Posted on Sat,
Apr. 28, 2007
Gondor, Resh
must prove innocence to win
damages
Beacon Journal
staff report
Robert
Gondor wouldn't address his
chances of pursuing damages
against the state now that
Portage County prosecutors
have said
they won't retry him in Connie
Nardi's slaying.
``We have
not even discussed that yet.
People bring it to our attention
and have over the years, in
prison and ever since
we got
out,'' he said. ``People used [click
here for entire article]
Recordpub.com
Charges
dismissed against Gondor
Marci Piltz
April 28, 2007
Record-Courier
staff writer
The Portage
County Prosecutor"s Office on
Friday dismissed all charges
against Robert Gondor in
connection with the 8
04/28/2007
Second man
cleared in 1988 killing
By: Jason Lea
JLea@News-Herald.com
All charges
dropped against Robert Gondor in
death of woman whose body was
found in Troy Township
All charges against Robert
Gondor
[click
here for entire article]
16-year prison
ordeal ends
Portage retrial
frees man convicted of murder in
1990
Thursday, April
19, 2007
Jim Nichols
Plain Dealer
Reporter
Ravenna- A dozen
Portage County residents
Wednesday gave back to Randy
Resh what had been taken away
from him 16½ years earlier: his
freedom and his life. Shortly
before 10:30 a.m., a Common
Pleas Court jury announced it
had found Resh, 43, not guilty
of a crime for which he had been
wrongly convicted and [click
here for entire article]
04/19/2007
No longer a
killer
David W. Jones/DJones@News-Herald.com
Mantua resident
found not guilty after
spending16 years in prison in
connection with death of Portage
woman. A seven-man,
five-woman Portage County jury
Wednesday found a Mantua man not
guilty of murder and attempted
rape of a woman whose body was [click
here for entire article]
Randy Resh found
not guilty of Nardi murder after
16 years in prison
By Marci Piltz
April 19, 2007
Record-Courier staff writer
Tears of joy and
long overdue sighs of relief
filled a Portage County
courtroom Wednesday morning
after Randy Resh was found not
guilty in the 1988 murder of
Connie Nardi. "I never thought
this day would come," said a
tearful Resh, 43, who spent 16
years in prison following his
first trial for Nardi's death in
1990. Ecstatic friends and
family celebrated [click
here for entire article]
Posted on Wed,
Apr. 18, 2007
Resh not guilty;
state accepts verdict
By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal
staff writer
RAVENNA -
Randy Resh was found not guilty
of all charges by a Portage
County jury this morning in
connection with the 1988 slaying
of Connie Nardi. As the jury
foreman read the verdicts,
beginning with attempted rape
and proceeding to involuntary
manslaughter and, finally, the
charge of murder, Resh raised [click
here for entire article]
Recordpub.com
Resh found not guilty Tears of
joy fill Portage County
courtroom
April 18, 2007
By Marci Piltz
Record-Courier staff writer
Tears of joy and long overdue
sighs of relief filled a Portage
County courtroom Wednesday after
Randy Resh was found not guilty
in the 1988 murder of Connie
Nardi.
"I never thought this day would
come," said a tearful Resh, 43,
as ecstatic friends and family
celebrated in Judge Laurie
Pittman’s courtroom of Portage
County Common Pleas Court. As
soon as Pittman dismissed the
jurors and left the bench, Resh
picked up a cell phone and
called his lifelong friend,
Robert Gondor also charged in
the murder and set to face
retrial on May 14 to tell him
the news. "He said we did a good
job," Resh said after he hung up
the phone. Traci Grimm, Resh’s
ex-wife, said she felt
"wonderful" after each verdict
was read by the jury foreman not
guilty to the charge of
attempted rape; not guilty to
the charge of murder; and not
guilty to the lesser included
offense of manslaughter. "This
has been a long time coming 16
and a half years," said Resh’s
mother, Eleanor Resh. Soon after
exiting the Portage County
courthouse, Resh bent down and
pulled up his pant leg to reveal
an electronic monitoring
bracelet. A relative handed him
a pair of wire cutters and soon,
the bracelet, a condition of his
January release on bond, was
coming off. Resh then walked
across the street to the Portage
County Adult Probation
Department and turned the
bracelet in.
Meeting back outside with family
members, Resh smiled as one
person after another gave
congratulatory hugs. Asked what
his next move would be, Resh
grabbed at his necktie. "I’m
gonna go home and change and go
to Bob’s house," he said.
Posted on Tue, Apr. 17, 2007
Judge asks jury
to consider alternative offense
in Resh trial
By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal staff writer
RAVENNA - Jurors
began deliberating shortly after
9 a.m. today in the Portage
County retrial of Randy Resh.
Resh and his lifelong friend,
Bob Gondor, both 43, were tried
separately in 1990 and convicted
of attempted rape, kidnapping,
murder and other offenses in the
August 1988 slaying of Connie
Nardi of Randolph Township.
Common Pleas Judge Laurie J.
Pittman, who is handling Resh's
retrial, instructed the jury to
consider a lesser offense of
involuntary manslaughter if Resh
is found not guilty of murder.
He also is charged with
attempted rape. Prosecutors
requested the inclusion of the
lesser charge over the objection
of Resh's defense lawyers. After
more than 10 years of appellate
proceedings, the Ohio Supreme
Court -- in a unanimous decision
on Dec. 26 -- vacated the
convictions of Resh and Gondor
and granted them new trials.
Troy Busta, who was the first
man charged and convicted in the
controversial murder case, was
the state's star witness at the
first trials and the retrial of
Resh, which began with jury
selection on March 27. The
charge of involuntary
manslaughter was not part of
either the high court ruling or
the first new-trial order by a
visiting judge in 2002. In other
developments, Gondor's retrial
was scheduled to begin on
Wednesday, but it was delayed
until May 14 because of
scheduling conflicts of the
defense lawyers. Resh and Gondor
have the same defense team.
Judge John A. Enlow, who is
handling Gondor's case, imposed
a gag order during earlier
proceedings. Citing that order,
Resh's defense lawyers said they
will be prohibited from
commenting on the jury's
verdict.
Posted on Mon, Apr. 16, 2007
Jury to get
Resh case tomorrow
RAVENNA -
Closing arguments ended this
afternoon in the Portage County
retrial of Randy Resh, and jury
deliberations will begin Tuesday
morning after the panel receives
instructions on the law, the
judge in the case announced.
Resh and his lifelong friend,
Bob Gondor, both 43, were tried
separately in 1990 and convicted
of attempted rape, kidnapping
and murder in the August 1988
slaying of Connie Nardi of
Randolph Township. After more
than 10 years of appellate
proceedings, the Ohio Supreme
Court -- in a unanimous Dec. 26
decision -- vacated the
convictions of Resh and Gondor
and granted them new trials.
Troy Busta, who was the first
man charged and convicted in the
controversial murder case, was
the state's star witness at the
first trials and the retrial of
Resh, which began with jury
selection on March 27. Resh is
facing charges of attempted rape
and murder. Gondor's retrial was
scheduled to begin Wednesday but
will be delayed several weeks
because of scheduling conflicts
of the defense lawyers. Resh and
Gondor have the same defense
team.
Posted on Fri,
Apr. 13, 2007
Defense rests in
Resh retrial
Judge doesn't
allow testimony from expert in
police interrogation
By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal staff writer
RAVENNA - The
defense rested Thursday in the
retrial of Randy Resh for a 1988
Portage County murder. The judge
disallowed defense testimony
from a previously certified [click
here for entire article]
Posted on Thu,
Apr. 12, 2007
Testimony
contradicts manual strangulation
Deputy coroner
says Nardi killed with `sleeper
hold'
By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal staff writer
RAVENNA - The
chief Cuyahoga County deputy
coroner testified Wednesday that
the 1988 murder of Connie Nardi
was caused by strangulation from
an arm-bar hold -- known by what
he termed a ``sleeper hold'' --
and not manual strangulation, as
Portage County prosecutors have
[click
here for entire article]
Recordpub.com
Resh defense
rests its case Ex-Portage
prosecutor Norris is not called
to testify
April 13, 2007
By Marci Piltz
Record-Courier staff writer
Defense
attorneys for Randy Resh rested
their case Thursday without
calling two witnesses they
indicated they would, including
former Portage County [click
here for entire article]
Recordpub.com
Pittman: Witness
can't testify
April 13, 2007
By Dave O'Brien
Record-Courier staff writer
Judge Laurie
Pittman denied Thursday a
defense request to have a
University of San Francisco
professor with expertise in the
psychology and sociology of
police interrogation [click
here for entire article]
Recordpub.com
Court cleared
over witness Prosecution objects
to testimony
April 12, 2007
By Dave O’Brien
Record-Courier staff writer
Following heated
arguments over the testimony of
a potential defense witness in
the Randy Resh murder retrial,
Judge Laurie Pittman cleared her
courtroom Wednesday and sent the
jury, spectators and media home
for the day pending a decision
about the relevance of the
witness’ [click
here for entire article]
Posted on Thu,
Apr. 12, 2007
Testimony
contradicts manual strangulation
Deputy coroner
says Nardi killed with `sleeper
hold'
By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal staff writer
RAVENNA - The
chief Cuyahoga County deputy
coroner testified Wednesday that
the 1988 murder of Connie Nardi
was caused by strangulation from
an arm-bar hold -- known by what
he termed a ``sleeper hold'' --
and not manual strangulation, as
Portage County prosecutors have
alleged since the original
autopsy. [click
here for entire article]
Recordpub.com
Witnesses:
Autopsy report not thorough
April 12, 2007
By Marci Piltz
Record-Courier staff writer
Connie Nardi
could have been strangled by an
arm-bar choke hold or with
someone’s hands, said the first
witness to testify for the
defense in the retrial of Randy
Resh. Dr. Joseph Felo, a
forensic pathologist and chief
deputy from the Cuyahoga County
Coroner’s Office, told jurors
Wednesday in Portage County
Common [click
here for entire article]
Posted on Wed,
Apr. 11, 2007
Busta's father
testifies; Resh defense to start
By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal
staff writer
RAVENNA -
Jurors in the retrial of Randy
Resh heard the state wrap up
witness testimony this morning
with Troy Busta's father saying
he saw a white Ford truck pull
into the driveway of his
family's [click
here for entire article]
Recordpub.com
Busta takes stand
again Convicted murderer's
roommate also testifies in
retrial of 1988 case
April 11, 2007
By Marci Piltz Record-Courier
staff writer
The former roommate of the
only man to confess to the 1988
murder of Connie Nardi testified
Tuesday in the retrial of Randy
Resh, the same day the judge
warned attorneys [click
here for entire article]
Posted on Tue,
Apr. 10, 2007
Killer
questioned about blood at crime
scene
By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal
staff writer
RAVENNA -
Defense lawyers for Randy Resh
questioned Troy Busta at length
this morning about blood stains
Busta claimed he saw at least an
hour after [click
here for entire article]
Posted on Tue,
Apr. 10, 2007
Killer spreads
blame
Busta describes
how he, Resh and Gondor murdered
woman
By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal
staff writer
RAVENNA -
Troy Busta took the witness
stand Monday in the murder
retrial of Randy Resh,
testifying that they, along with
Bob Gondor, conspired to kill [click
here for entire article]
Busta: Resh killed Randolph
woman after night at bar Witness
recounts woman's murder
April 10, 2007
By Dave O'Brien Record-Courier
staff writer
Troy Busta, the prosecution's
star witness Monday in Portage
County Common Pleas Court,
testified that he, Randy Resh
and Resh's longtime friend
Robert [click
here for entire article]
Posted on
Mon, Apr. 09, 2007
Defense
attacks sheriff's probe
Failure to
examine fingertips questioned;
Resh trial to resume
By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal staff writer
RAVENNA - Four days after
recovering Connie Nardi's body
in a pond on Aug. 15, 1988,
Geauga County authorities had a
possibly important piece of
evidence on its way [click
here for entire article]
Posted on Mon,
Apr. 09, 2007
Busta begins
testimony in Resh retrial
By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal staff writer
RAVENNA -
Troy
Busta took the stand late this
morning in the Porage County
retrial of Randy Resh and
testified that they, along with
Bob Gondor, conspired to [click
here for entire article]
Judge OKs retrial recess for
prosecutors to review taped
calls
4/6/2007, 2:55 p.m. ET
The Associated Press
RAVENNA, Ohio
(AP) — The judge at the retrial
of a man charged in the beating
death of a woman nearly 19 years
ago has granted prosecutors a
recess until Monday so that they
can review recorded phone calls
made by their key witness [click
here for entire article]
Posted on Fri,
Apr. 06, 2007
Request for Resh
mistrial denied
Judge gives prosecution
three-day recess to review
recorded calls by star witness
By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal staff writer
RAVENNA -
A
prosecution request for a
mistrial in the Portage County
murder case of Randy Resh was
denied Thursday, but the judge
granted the government a
three-day recess to review some
200 recorded phone calls by its
star witness, Troy Busta, from
the [click
here for entire article]
Resh retrial
poses test of memory: Passage of
time affects testimony in 1988
murder case
April 8, 2007
By Marci Piltz
Record-Courier staff writer
The first week
of testimony in the retrial of
Randy Resh on charges of murder
and attempted rape in connection
with the 1988 slaying of Connie
Nardi has already [click
here for entire article]
Judge Refuses To Grant
Mistrial In Resh Murder Case
POSTED: 3:50 pm EDT April 5, 2007
UPDATED: 7:50 pm EDT April 5,
2007
AKRON, Ohio --
A judge Thursday shot down a
request for a mistrial in the
case of Randy Resh.
Resh is being tried a second time for
a 1988 murder of a Randolph
Township woman. He spent 16
years in prison before the Ohio
Supreme Court threw out his
conviction.
Prosecutors wanted a mistrial because
the state never received some
tapes the defense team had --
tapes prosecutors believe will
help their case.
Resh is one of two men getting a new
trial in the kidnapping and
murder of Connie Nardi nearly 20
years ago.
Resh's defense team has tape
recordings of phone calls from
prison between star witness Troy
Busta and his mother in which
she implied he would get
favorable treatment if he
testified against Randy Resh.
The defense argued it never intended
to actually play the tapes in
court, but prosecutors said they
didn't buy that.
After some heated exchanges, the
judge did not grant the
mistrial, but is instead giving
the state the Easter weekend to
copy and listen to the phone
conversations.
The trial is scheduled to resume
Monday morning.
Posted on Wed, Apr. 04, 2007
Prosecution moves for mistrial
in Resh case
By Ed Meyer Beacon Journal staff
writer
RAVENNA - The state moved for
a mistrial late today in the
case of Randy Resh following an
assertion before the jury that
the prosecution's star witness
-- in prison for the [click
here for entire article]
Recordpub.com
Coroner: Nardi
was strangled
Marci Piltz
April 4, 2007
By Marci Piltz
Record-Courier staff writer
The former
Geauga County coroner testified
Tuesday that Connie Nardi died
of manual strangulation, in a
manner that did not match the
defense theory [click
here for entire article]
Posted on Wed,
Apr. 04, 2007
Judge allows
Busta transcript
First man
convicted in Portage woman's
1988 murder will testify in Resh
retrial
By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal staff writer
RAVENNA -
The much-debated 50-page
interview of the state's key
witness in the Randy Resh
retrial will be admitted into
evidence, according to a ruling
issued Tuesday by Portage County
[Click
here for entire article]
Posted on Tue,
Apr. 03, 2007
Resh jury is
given 2 versions of murder
Defense attempts
to poke holes in state's
long-standing theory of how,
where crime occurred
By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal staff writer
RAVENNA -
Breaking new ground on three
pieces of evidence in a 1988
murder case, defense lawyers at
Randy Resh's retrial told a
Portage County [click
here for entire article]
Posted on Tue, Apr. 03, 2007
Busta
transcript allowed in Resh trial
By Ed Meyer Beacon Journal staff
writer
RAVENNA - A Portage County
judge ruled today that a key
piece of evidence cited by a
visiting judge in 2002 when the
first new-trial orders were
issued for Randy Resh and Bob
Gondor is [click
here for entire article]
Posted on Thu, Mar. 29, 2007 |
 |
|
|
|
Evidence dispute halts jury
selection
Interview could be ruled
inadmissible in Resh retrial
By
Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal staff writer
RAVENNA
- An unforeseen court
battle developed Wednesday over
a key piece of evidence cited by
a visiting judge in 2002 when
the first new-trial order was
issued for Randy Resh and Bob
Gondor in their 18-year-old
Portage County murder case.
The evidence, a 50-page
recorded interview of the first
man [click
here for entire article] |
Recordpub.com
Prosecution’s star witness
testifies in Resh retrial
Marci Piltz
March 29, 2007
By Marci Piltz
Record-Courier staff writer
The state’s star witness testified
Wednesday during pre-trial motions in
the retrial of Randy Resh on charges of
kidnapping, attempted rape and murder.
Troy Busta, 39, appeared before Judge
Laurie Pittman in Portage County Common
Pleas Court Wednesday afternoon,
represented by Portage County Public
Defender [click
here for entire article]
| Posted on Wed, Mar. 28, 2007 |
|
|
|
|
Resh
defense team brings in help
New
trial consultant helps to
question jury pool in
judge's chambers before
retrial of murder case
By
Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal staff writer
RAVENNA
- There was a new
face on the defense team Tuesday
when jury selection began in the
retrial of Randy Resh in a 1988
Portage County murder case.
Paul Jepsen, a director for
DecisionQuest, one of the
nation's leading firms in trial
consultation and courtroom
graphics, was helping Resh's
lawyers question the pool of
jurors who will hear the case.
Opening statements are
expected [click
here for entire article] |
Posted on Tue, Mar. 27, 2007
Resh jury selection starts behind closed
doors
By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal staff writer
RAVENNA - Jury selection began behind
closed doors this morning in the retrial
of Randy Resh in connection with a
decades-
old Portage County murder case.
The Ohio Supreme Court, in a unanimous
decision on Dec. 26, ordered new trials
for Resh and his lifelong friend, Bob
Gondor,
who insisted from the outset they were innocent of the 1988 murder of a
Randolph Township woman.
Friensds since their childhood days in
Mantua, the men, both 43, were convicted
of attempted rape, murder and kidnapping
in separate trials in 1990.
They then spent more than 16 years in
prison before being freed on bond in
January in the aftermath of the high
court ruling.
Resh, dressed in a dark blue suit, dress
shirt, light blue tie and black shoes,
heard Common Pleas Judge Laurie J.
Pitttman briefly address the pool of
potential jurors in the courtroom before
she went into the chambers with his
three defense lawyers and a trial
consultant hired to assist in picking
the jurors who will hear his case.
In an unusual step, it is there that the
actual questioning of the jurors by
defense and prosecution lawyers is
taking place out of public view.
On March 2, Pittman issued a gag order
in the case, saying she was concerned
about pretrial publicity affecting the
selection of a jury.
Pittman also placed many of the records
filed by both sides under seal.
The Ohio Supreme Court ruling, which
vacated the convictions of Resh and
Gondor, affirmed the first order for new
trials by a visiting judge in 2002.
In that decision, the judge ruled that
the original lawyers for Resh and Gondor
failed to use many pieces of potentially
exonerating evidence.
Gondor's new trial is scheduled to begin
April 18 before Judge John A. Enlow.
Re-trial for 1990 murder starts today Jury selection begins for Resh in kidnapping, death of Randolph woman
By Marci Piltz
3/27/07
Record-Courier staff writer
Nearly 17 years ago, Randy Resh sat in a Portage County Courtroom where he was found guilty of kidnapping and murder -- a crime he claimed he didn't commit.
Now, five years after a visiting judge ordered Resh and co-defendant Robert Gondor -- who was tried separately but also found guilty of the crimes in 1990 -- Resh will get [click here for entire article]
Jury Selection Underway in Randy Resh Retrial
March 27, 2007 11:32 AM CDT
Akron, OH - Jury selection is underway in the retrial for Randy Resh. Resh - and Bob Gondor - have already serviced 17-years in prison for the murder of Connie Nardi.
Their convictions were overturned last year and both men have been released from prison during retrials.
Gondor's retrial is slated for April 18th. |
|
|
|
|
|
Resh's retrial begins Tuesday
Prosecution interview with star witness
could be pivotal for defense
Posted Monday March 26, 2007
By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal staff writer
RAVENNA -
Nearly five years have come and gone
since the first new-trial order was
issued for Randy Resh and Bob Gondor in
their infamous Portage [click
here for entire article]
Posted on Wed, Mar. 21, 2007
No deals for witnesses, officials say
No promises made, murder-case judge told
By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal staff writer
RAVENNA -
Portage County authorities said Tuesday
they had promised ``absolutely nothing''
to prospective witnesses in connection
with the decades-old murder case of
Randy Resh and Bob Gondor.
The two men are awaiting new trials,
ordered by the
[click here for entire article]
Posted on Tue, Mar. 20, 2007 |
|
|
|
|
Gondor, Resh
want to know of any inmate deals
After
prosecution team visits prison,
defense asks judge for disclosure of
any new witnesses
By Ed Meyer
Beacon
Journal staff writer
RAVENNA
- It was a prosecution deal
that Randy Resh and Bob Gondor say cost
them the past 17years of their lives in
prison, and now with the first retrial
in a Portage County murder case a week
away, they want to know of any new deals
made with inmates.
The formal request was made Monday to
Portage County Common Pleas Judge Laurie
J. Pittman, who granted a gag order in
the the matter on March 2.
Four days later, two representatives
of the prosecutor's office visited
Grafton Correctional [Click
here for entire article] |
|
Gag order silences only
justice
Friday, March 09, 2007
Some criminal cases raise such
disturbing questions about the quality
of justice that they demand more light,
more reporting and more public scrutiny.
Such are the high stakes in the case
[Click
here for entire article]
Posted on Sun, Mar. 04, 2007 |
|
|
|
|
Two lives,
two trials transformed by unused
defense files
Gondor and
Resh retrials to focus on evidence
original lawyers claim prosecutor
never made available
By Ed Meyer
Beacon
Journal staff writer
RAVENNA
- Had it not been for two
different attorneys in two separate
murder trials making the identical,
serious mistake some 16 years ago, Randy
Resh and Bob Gondor might not be in the
situation they find themselves today. [Click
here for entire article]. |
Portage judge issues
gag order in murder case
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Jim Nichols
Plain Dealer Reporter
Ravenna - A Portage County judge
on Friday slapped a gag order on
prosecutors and defense lawyers
involved in the high-profile retrial
of one of two [click
here for entire article]
|
Posted on Sat, Mar. 03, 2007 |
 |
|
|
|
Gag order in Resh
trial
Portage judge grants
prosecution request to ensure `fair,
impartial jury selection'
By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal
staff writer
RAVENNA
- A Portage County judge issued a gag
order Friday to Randy Resh, his lawyers [click
here for entire article] |
Gag order requested in Gondor, Resh case
Marci Piltz
February 22, 2007
By Marci Piltz
Record-Courier staff writer
The Portage County Prosecutor's Office is asking a
Portage County judge to impose a gag order in the case
of two men accused of a 1988 murder who are now out on
bond and awaiting new trials.
Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Buchanan recently filed a
motion [click
here for entire article]
Posted on Wed, Feb. 21, 2007 |
 |
|
|
|
Lawyers request pretrial gag
order
Prosecutors in Gondor, Resh murder
cases say talk could hamper trial
By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal staff writer
RAVENNA
- Portage County prosecutors have asked a judge
to issue a gag order to Randy Resh, Bob Gondor and their
defense lawyers before they get a new day in court in a
decades-old murder case.
Such an order is necessary, Assistant County Prosecutor [click
here for entire article] |
|
|
|
|
|
Posted on Tue, Jan. 30, 2007
Two trials for Gondor and Resh
Judge rules defendants' rights imperiled by
joint proceedings
By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal staff writer
RAVENNA
- A judge decided Monday that two Portage County men
granted new trials by the Ohio Supreme Court in a 1988 murder case
will have separate trials later this year.
In a hearing last week before Common Pleas Judge Laurie J.
Pittman, lawyers for Randy Resh and Bob Gondor had asked for a joint
trial.
Both men testified that they had discussed the issue for years [click
here for entire article] |
Families enjoy quiet reunions
After more than 16 years behind bars, Gondor, Resh
adjust to comforts of home
By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal staff writer
MANTUA
- On their first night of freedom in more than 16 years, Randy
Resh and Bob Gondor shared the same disquieting experience.
Resh said he went to bed about midnight.
Gondor said he turned in a little after 1 a.m.
Neither slept much.
``It was too dark, and Bob said the same [Click
for entire article]
2 Portage men freed after wrongful convictions
Charges refiled in woman's killing
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Jim Nichols
Plain Dealer Reporter
Ravenna -- Two Portage County men won their release from prison Friday,
16 years after they were wrongly convicted of killing a young mother.
Now prosecutors will try to get the convictions right during a retrial.
Mantua natives Robert Gondor and Randy Resh have been [Click
for entire article]
Pair free after 16 years Resh, Gondor out of jail Friday pending new
murder trial
Marci Piltz
January 20, 2007
By Marci Piltz
and Don Jovich
Record-Courier staff writers
For the first time in more than 16 years, Randy Resh and Bob Gondor are
starting their day as free men.
Resh, 43, and Gondor, 42, were released [Click
for entire article]
Gondor, Resh leave jail
New trials set for March, April
By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal staff writer
RAVENNA
- Randy Resh and Bob Gondor, who won new trials in the Ohio
Supreme Court for a 1988 murder they insist they did not commit, were
granted bond Friday during separate hearings at the Portage County
Courthouse.
Gondor was the first to be released from the county jail at 1:15 p.m.
in a remarkably poignant day that was not without its difficulties.
After posting a $10,000 cash bond [click
for entire article]
Friday,
January 19, 2007
Wrongly convicted men released after 16 years
Ravenna - Two Portage County men won their release from jail today, 16
years after they were wrongly convicted of the 1988 rape and murder of a
young mother.
Now prosecutors will try to get the conviction right during a retrial.
Mantua natives Robert Gondor and Randy Resh have been in prison since 1990
for the strangulation death of Connie Nardi, a 31-year- [click
for entire article]
1988 murder case back in Portage court Gondor, Resh, convicted of
killing Randolph woman, ask for release pending new trial
Marci Piltz
January 19, 2007
By Marci Piltz
Record-Courier staff writer
More than 16 years ago, Robert Gondor and Randy Resh appeared in
separate courtrooms of Portage County Common Pleas Court and received word
they'd been found guilty of a murder they say they didn't commit.
Today, the men will appear in those [Click
for entire article]
| Posted on Fri, Jan. 19, 2007 |
|
|
|
Gondor, Resh due in court today
Bond sought as inmates await new murder trials
By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal staff writer
RAVENNA
- In what is expected to be a heated legal battle, Randy
Resh and Bob Gondor go before separate Portage County judges today to
determine if either or both will taste freedom -- at least temporarily
-- for the first time in more than 16 years.
The Portage County Prosecutor's Office has asked that bond be set
at $1 million cash for each man on charges in a 1988 murder, saying
that the men are flight risks and would pose a threat to the community
if they are released before new trials ordered [Click
for entire article] |
posted 1/11/07
Portage judge gets two cases
Pittman would hear Resh, Gondor retrials
By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal staff writer
RAVENNA
- The Ohio Supreme Court on Wednesday assigned a Portage County
judge to handle future proceedings in the vacated murder convictions of
Randy Resh and Bob Gondor. [click
here for whole story]
Posted 1/9/2007 in the Akron Beacon Journal:
Inmates ask court for bond
Visiting judge to hear Gondor, Resh retrials
By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal staff writer
RAVENNA
- Requests for bond for Randy Resh and Bob Gondor were filed
Monday, opening the way for their release from prison in a Portage County
murder case.
Meanwhile, a certified letter from the Ohio Supreme Court was [click
for whole story]
Posted 1/9/2007 in the News-Herald:
| 01/09/2007 |
| Lawyers seek men's release |
| By:
Betsy Scott
BScott@News-Herald.com |
|
Attorneys for Gondor, Resh file motions after men are granted
retrials
Two men who were ordered new trials in a Geauga County-related
murder case could be released from prison soon if their attorneys have
their way. Lawyers for Bob Gondor and ... [click
for whole story] |
Posted 1/6/2007 in the Akron Beacon Journal:
Gondor, Resh seek jail release
Two will seek bond until new murder trials
By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal staff writer
RAVENNA
- Lawyers for Randy Resh and Bob Gondor say they will file
motions Monday requesting bond, which could mean their release from prison
on murder convictions while court-ordered new trials are conducted.
However, Portage County Prosecutor [click
here for the rest of the article]
Retrials ordered in 1988 murder
Ohio Supreme Court rules in favor of two men imprisoned for 16 years
By Stephanie Warsmith and
Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal staff writers
Supporters
hope two
Portage
County men
will soon be released on bond after spending more than 16 years in prison
for a murder they say they didn't commit.
The Ohio
Supreme Court on Tuesday unanimously reversed an appeals court's decision
and ordered new trials for Randy Resh and Bob Gondor.
Knowing a
decision would be coming this week, Gondor called a longtime family
friend, Patty Vechery of Chardon, from Grafton Correctional Institution
about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, and she told him of the news.
``It just
felt great,'' Gondor said in a telephone interview from the prison. ``When
she told me it was a unanimous decision, it was the best news we could
have hoped for.''
New trial ordered for
Portage murder Ohio Supreme Court overturns 1990 convictions of Gondor,
Resh
By Mike Sever
Record-Courier staff writer
The Ohio Supreme Court
on Tuesday ordered new trials for Bob Gondor and Randy Resh, who were
convicted in 1990 of beating to death Connie Nardi of Randolph and dumping
her body in a pond.
The court unanimously
ruled that the 11th District Court of Appeals was wrong in 2004 when it
overturned the June 2002 county trial court's decision to vacate the
convictions and grant new trials to the two
Mantua
men. Gondor was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, kidnapping and
obstructing justice. Resh was convicted of murder and attempted rape.
Retrial
ordered in 1988 murder
Poor defense cited in voiding convictions
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Aaron Marshall
Plain Dealer Reporter
Columbus- Two men
convicted in a 1988 kidnapping, attempted rape and murder of a woman in
Portage County are entitled to a new trial, the Ohio Supreme Court
unanimously ordered Tuesday.
Robert Gondor and
Randy Resh, also of
Portage
County,
have been serving prison sentences since their convictions in the
abduction and murder of Connie Nardi in 1990. The state's highest court
granted them new trials because of ineffective legal counsel from their
trial attorneys. [complete
article]
Ohio
Supreme Court overturns convictions in 1988 slaying
Associated Press
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio Supreme Court today ordered new
trials for two men convicted 16 years ago of beating a woman to death and
dumping her body in a pond.
The court ruled unanimously to reject an appeals court decision
that had upheld the 1990 convictions of Robert Gondor and Randy Resh. The
two were convicted of killing 31-year-old Connie Nardi in August 1988
after an evening of drinking in
Portage
County.
Those convictions were overturned in June 2002 when a judge ruled
that separate juries didn't hear evidence that could have cleared the men.
The judge also ordered new trials.
In January 2005, the 11th District Court of Appeals in
Warren
upheld the convictions, basing its decision on the original juries
believing the testimony of the first man convicted in the case, Troy Busta
of Hiram.
Resh is serving up to life in prison and Gondor is serving up to
51 years. Both men were 24 when Nardi was killed in 1988.
Justice Paul Pfeifer said the two men presented “competent and
credible evidence” their convictions should be thrown out.
12/27/2006
Murder case reopened
By: Betsy Scott
BScott@News-Herald.com
Men convicted of dumping
body in Geauga get new trials
Two men convicted in a
murder case with Geauga County ties were ordered new trials Tuesday by the
Ohio Supreme Court.
Robert Gondor and Randy Resh, both of Portage County, were convicted in
1990 of participating in the 1988 kidnapping, attempted rape and murder of
then-31-year-old Connie Nardi of Rootstown.
But the Supreme Court unanimously reinstated a 2002 order of the Portage
County Common Pleas Court granting new trials to the men, based on
findings that they were deprived of their constitutional right to a fair
trial because they received ineffective assistance from their trial
attorneys.
Tuesday's decision reversed a 2-1 ruling by the 11th District Court of
Appeals that had reversed the
Portage
court's order.
The Supreme Court justices said the appeals court erred by weighing the
facts of the case, rather than looking for an abuse of discretion in the
trial court.
2 men to be retried in ’88 rape, murder
High court’s order stems from doubts about previous trials
Wednesday,
December 27, 2006
James Nash
THE
COLUMBUS
DISPATCH
|
DESERVE NEW TRIALS....read ruling here ---