Ohio Death Row Inmate Jeffrey Wogenstahl

Jeffrey Wogenstahl, Ohio

March 12, 2019

Jeffrey Wogenstahl was scheduled to be executed at 10 am local time, on Wednesday, April 17, 2019, at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Mansfield, Ohio.  Jeffrey’s execution has been stayed.  Fifty-eight-year-old Jeffrey is convicted of kidnapping, raping, and murdering 10-year-old Amber Garrett in Harrison, Ohio on November 24, 1991.  Jeffrey has spent the last 26 years of his life on Ohio’s death row.

Ten-year-old Amber Garrett lived with her mother, Peggy, and her four siblings in Harrison, Ohio.  On November 23, 1991, Peggy went out late at night with a friend, Lynn, after asking her 16-year-old son to look after the other children.

Peggy and Lynn eventually met up with Jeffrey Wogenstahl, whom Peggy had known for about six weeks.  While talking at the bar, Peggy told Wogenstahl that one son was gone for the weekend and another was watching the children.  Peggy, Lynn, and Wogenstahl eventually all went outside to smoke marijuana in Wogenstahl’s car, before going to a third bar.

When the third bar was closing, Wogenstahl invited the ladies back to his apartment.  The invitation was declined and Peggy and Lynn went to a nearby Waffle House.  Meanwhile, Wogenstahl, who had previously been at the Garretts’ apartment, arrived at the Garretts’ apartment around 3 am and knocked on the door.  Wogenstahl told Eric that his mother needed him at a nearby apartment.  Wogenstahl drove Eric close to the apartment, saying that he didn’t want Eric’s mother to see him, but that he would wait around the block for Eric.  Eric went to the designated apartment and found that his mother was not there.  When Eric returned outside, Wogenstahl was gone.

Eric walked home, and upon arriving, discovered that the door was unlocked.  Concerned, Eric checked on all the children and discovered Amber was missing, however, Eric was not overly worried as he had never actually seen her that night, and began thinking that she had spent the night with a friend.

On the afternoon of November 24, 1991, Peggy reported her daughter missing.  On November 27, police found the body of Amber down a steep embankment, where numerous witnesses saw a car parked during the early hours of November 24, 1991.  Amber had been killed by multiple stab wounds and blunt force trauma, each of which would have been fatal on their own.

During the investigation, several witnesses identified Wogenstahl as the man they had seen.  Wogenstahl’s car was also identified.  Some of the injuries were thought to have been caused by a jack handle.  Police discovered that Wogenstahl’s jack handle was missing.  Later DNA testing also confirmed that Amber’s blood was in his car.

This is not Wogenstahl’s first execution date.  Previous execution dates have been stayed for numerous reasons.  Most recently, the Ohio Supreme Court has issued a stay of execution over jurisdiction issues.  The city of Harrison, Ohio is on the border with the state of Indiana.  Amber’s body was discovered in Indiana, however, it is believed that Amber was moved to that location after her death.

Further, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has announced that due to concerns over the execution drugs, no executions will take place until a new lethal injection protocol has been established.  This has resulted in numerous executions being rescheduled.  Governor DeWine’s announcement came after Magistrate Judge Michael R. Merz ruled that the 3-drug lethal injection procedure used in Ohio was, essentially, a “fatal waterboarding.”  Judge Merz claimed that according to expert testimony, all the drugs would produce agony for the inmate during the execution.  Judge Merz, however, ruled that he was unable to halt the execution due to a 2015 Supreme Court ruling, that requires inmates to provide a suitable and viable alternative for execution if they argue that the state’s method of execution is cruel.

Over the past several years, Ohio has struggled to establish a satisfactory execution protocol.  More information regarding Ohio’s execution problems can be found here.  

Please pray for peace and healing for Amber Garrett’s family.  Pray for strength for the family of Jeffery.  Please pray that if Jeffery is innocent, lacks the mental competency to be executed, or should not be executed for any other reason, that evidence will be presented before his execution.  Please pray that Jeffrey may find a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.