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This is unfortunate.
The fact that his wife had a hyphenated surname is reason enough to conclude that she deserved to be strangled.
The Ohio Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the murder conviction of a former South Toledo man for killing his ex-wife, despite finding that prosecutors didn’t properly inform the defense team about evidence used in the man’s trial.
Ronald Boaston is serving a sentence of 15 years to life for strangling Brandi Gonyer-Boaston, 28, on Feb. 14, 2014, and leaving her body in the trunk of her running car in a rural area near Delta, Ohio.
In a 6-1 ruling, the court found that the prosecution and trial court erred by admitting testimony from Dr. Diane Scala-Barnett, then Lucas County deputy coroner, without first providing a written report to the defense of the scientific basis for her findings. But it ultimately determined the error was harmless and did not affect the outcome of the trial.
Dr. Barnett, who now serves as the county coroner, testified as to the contents of the victim’s stomach, which helped her determine the time of death. She also matched a bruise on the victim’s chin with a buckle on Boaston’s glove.
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The couple had married, divorced, reunited without remarrying, and then moved in together with their children. The victim moved out again, but Ms. Gonyer-Boaston returned each morning after work to prepare their children for school.
Justice Donnelly noted that the time of death became relevant only because of Boaston’s own voluntary statement about when he and his ex-wife ate sausage breakfast sandwiches that she had brought home after leaving her night shift work as a nurse at the former Arbors at Waterville.
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