Coonrod jury visits crime scene

A small cross, erected as a memorial to Thomas and Stephen Coonrod on the front lawn of the home where they died on March 7, was removed shortly before jurors arrived to view the crime scene at 150 Lafayette Street in Greenfield. Highland County Common Pleas Court Judge Rocky Coss said Thursday that the court did not want the jurors distracted or persuaded by any "emotional input."

The visit to the crime scene opened the first full day in court following the seating of the jury in Wesley Coonrod's capital murder trial. Coonrod, 42, of Greenfield, is accused of setting the fire that killed Thomas and Stephen. If he is convicted on the charges of aggravated murder, Coonrod could face the death penalty. 

Escorted by common pleas court bailiff Dan Music and members of the Greenfield Police Department and Highland County Sheriff's Office, the 12 jurors and six alternates entered the apartment in two groups, entering a door still flanked by police tape labeling it a crime scene. The blackened inside of the home could be seen from the street, along with sheets of plywood that had been used to seal the broken windows. Each group spent approximately 10 minutes inside viewing a hallway, bedroom and closet, while the prosecution and defense attorneys waited outside. The jurors were then led around the outside perimeter of the structure, and then went inside a second time. 

Court reporter/stenographer Dinah Phillips accompanied the jurors as well, and twice the group went on the record for the court, first to reaffirm that members of the media are not allowed to photograph jurors, and then to note the defense's objection that media members be allowed inside the crime scene or to photograph the inside of the crime scene. A call was then placed to Coss, who said only the property owner could permit entrance to the structure.

The jury arrived back at the Highland County Courthouse, where Coss reiterated that what they viewed at the crime scene was not evidence. 

"This was to help you understand the circumstances," Coss said to the jury. "You were only given this opportunity for putting it into context."

The jurors were dismissed early for lunch.

Opening statements will begin at 1 p.m., and the state is scheduled to bring its first witness, the property owner of 150 Lafayette Street.