Darryl Durr

Case record: Darryl Durr

Background

Darryl Durr was an Ohio death row inmate.

Durr kidnapped 16-year-old Angel Vincent from her home while her mother and stepfather were away. He raped and strangled her with a dog chain and hid her body inside two orange traffic barrels placed end-to-end in a Cleveland park. Angel Vincent disappeared after her mother and stepfather left her home alone on the evening of January 31, 1988.

Durr fathered a child with a teenage girlfriend who lived down the street from Vincent. He named his newborn daughter Angel and made his girlfriend model the jeans he had removed from Vincent the night she was abducted.

Three months after the abduction, the victim’s decomposed body was discovered by neighborhood kids playing in a park. The case remained unsolved until Durr was arrested on two unrelated rapes in September 1988.

Durr’s girlfriend, Deborah Mullins, came forward and told authorities that Durr had picked her up the night Vincent disappeared. Mullins said Vincent was tied up in the back of the vehicle, and Durr said he was going to “waste” her. Mullins said Durr dropped her off at an apartment, then returned about four hours later and placed Vincent’s ring and bracelet on a coffee table. Mullins said Durr boasted that he had strangled Vincent.

Durr was convicted largely on Mullins’s testimony. Mullins said she waited months to tell police about the murder out of fear that Durr would harm her. Prosecutors said Mullins knew facts about the case that she could not have known without Durr telling her, including the location of the body.

Other details

• Victim: 16-year-old Angel Vincent (also referred to as Angel Vincent and Angel Vincent’s body).
• Victim’s mother: Norma Godsey (also referred to as Norma Jean Godsey and Norma Jean O’Nan).
• Victim’s uncle: Wesley Brewer.
• Prosecutor names included: Carmen Marino.
• Presiding judge: Ralph A. McAllister.
• Institutions and identifiers included: Ohio State Penetentiary; Inmate# OSP #A207-889.
• Date of sentencing: December 16, 1988.
• Presiding judge: Ralph A. McAllister.
• Prosecuting attorney: Carmen Marino.
• Case number: CR231670.
• County of conviction: Cayahoga County.
• Date of offence: Between 1/31/88 and 4/3/88.
• Date of birth: June 26, 1963.
• Execution location noted in the narrative: Southern Ohio Correctional Facility; Lucasville, Ohio.
• Execution time noted in the narrative: 10:36 a.m.
• Execution details noted in the narrative: thiopental sodium was used, and a 5-gram dose of thiopental sodium was sent through tubes hooked up to Durr’s left arm.

Timeline

• January 31, 1988 — Angel Vincent disappeared from her home in Elyria after her mother called her by telephone and learned Deborah Mullins was at the home and that Vincent’s girlfriend Deborah Mullins’s boyfriend, Darryl Durr, was expected to arrive later in the evening.
• January 31, 1988 (approximately 10:50 p.m.) — Norma Jean O’Nan and her husband returned to their home in Elyria and discovered the front door unlocked, the lights and television on, and their sixteen-year-old daughter, Angel Vincent, missing.
• April 30, 1988 — Three boys playing in Brookside Park noticed a foul odor coming from two orange traffic barrels; the barrels had been placed open end to open end under a railroad tie; they found a severely decomposed female body wrapped in a dirty old blanket.
• September 1988 — After Durr was arrested on two unrelated rapes, Deborah Mullins revealed her knowledge of Angel’s disappearance to the Cleveland Police Department.
• December 16, 1988 — Durr was sentenced.
• April 20, 2010 — Durr was executed by lethal injection in Ohio.
• April 21, 2010 — Reports described the execution as taking place at 10:36 a.m. and recounted statements made during the execution.

The offence

On January 31, 1988, Durr kidnapped 16-year-old Angel Vincent from her home in Elyria. While her mother and stepfather were away at a Super Bowl party, Durr raped and strangled her with a dog chain. He hid her body inside two orange traffic barrels placed end-to-end in a Cleveland park.

The body was wrapped in a dirty old blanket inside the two orange barrels. A portion of a leg was visible through a large hole in the blanket.

An initial external examination determined the body to be that of a young white female in an advanced state of decomposition. The body was heavily infested with maggots, and the body’s eyes and ears had been lost. There was also prominent evidence of animal activity about the inguinal and vulval regions of the body and in and about the thighs.

According to a deputy coroner, the decomposition was consistent with three months’ exposure. After examining the body, the deputy coroner concluded that the cause of death was homicidal violence. Because the body was badly decomposed, the deputy coroner could not determine whether ligature marks, scrapes or tears indicating strangulation were present. There was no damage noted to the internal cartilaginous structures of the neck. The deputy coroner declined to rule out strangulation as a cause of death because damage to these structures is not always present in young strangulation victims due to the flexibility of these structures.

Because the body was severely infested with bacteria, testing for the presence of acid phosphates and spermatozoa was inconclusive.

At trial, Deborah Mullins testified about Durr’s actions and statements:

• Mullins testified that Deborah had asked Durr to drive to the house of one of Angel’s friends to retrieve a package of cigarettes for Angel, and that Durr agreed and left.
• Shortly thereafter, Durr returned to Mullins’s house and began throwing stones at her upstairs bedroom window and blew his car horn for her to come out.
• Mullins and her baby left the house and entered Durr’s car where Durr brandished a knife toward both of them.
• Mullins testified that, as Durr drove, she heard noises from the back seat and after turning around discovered Angel bound on the rear floorboard.
• Mullins testified that Durr responded that he intended to “waste” Angel because “she would tell.”
• Mullins testified that Durr let Deborah out of his car after threatening the life of both Deborah and his baby.
• Mullins testified that Durr returned to her home three or four hours later and told her that he had “wasted” Angel and that she should pack her things because they were leaving.
• Mullins testified that Durr drove Deborah and their baby to his wife, Janice Durr’s, Cleveland apartment.
• Mullins testified that, after dropping Deborah and the baby off, Durr left with a duffle bag containing two shovels and later returned wet and covered with snow.
• Mullins testified that Durr placed a ring and bracelet that belonged to Angel on a coffee table.
• Mullins testified that Durr told her that he had strangled Angel with a dog chain until she “pissed, pooped and shit and made a few gurgling sounds,” took her body to a park, wrapped it in a blanket, placed it between two construction cones, and left her by some railroad tracks.
• Mullins testified that later that day or the next day Durr burned a bag of clothing in the basement of Janice Durr’s apartment building and asked Deborah to model the black acid-washed jeans Angel had worn on the evening of her abduction.
• Mullins testified that Durr drove Deborah, Janice Durr and his children to the west side of Cleveland where he burned another bag of items, and that while driving from Cleveland toward Elyria Durr threw Angel’s jean jacket out the car window.
• Mullins testified that after arriving at Deborah’s home in Elyria, Deborah’s mother informed her that Mrs. O’Nan had come over and inquired about Deborah’s knowledge of Angel’s disappearance; Mullins testified that Durr threatened her and their baby’s life and instructed her to tell Mrs. O’Nan that Angel had been talking about running away.
• Mullins testified that Durr took her and their baby to Edgewater Park where Durr threw Angel’s glasses over a cliff into the lake.
• Mullins testified that a month or so later, while driving past the Cleveland Zoo, Durr pointed to a location and said, “Over there.” When Deborah questioned his statement, Durr replied, “You know what I am talking about.”

Following a jury trial, Durr was convicted of aggravated murder, kidnapping, aggravated robbery, and rape.

Investigation

After Angel Vincent disappeared, her mother searched the home for missing belongings. The search revealed missing items including an old lavender blanket with a hole in the center, a pair of black acid-washed denim jeans, Angel’s pink and white checkered blouse, light blue eyeglasses that Angel wore only in her home, a jean jacket borrowed from a friend, an Avon necklace with an “A” charm attached, a small chain bracelet, an Avon slip-on bracelet, an inexpensive rhinestone ring and a dog chain that hung from her mirror. Angel’s handbag was found stuffed under her bed.

Three or four days after the disappearance, the victim’s mother confronted Deborah Mullins and Durr regarding the disappearance and was told by Durr: “you know how kids are, she probably ran away.”

After Durr’s arrest on two unrelated rapes in September 1988, Deborah Mullins revealed her knowledge of Angel’s disappearance to the Cleveland Police Department. As a result of her information, an ankle X-ray obtained from Elyria Memorial Hospital and dental records were used to determine that the body found in Brookside Park was that of Angel Vincent.

Trial

Durr was convicted by a jury and the trial court followed the jury’s recommendation and sentenced Durr to death.

At trial, Durr was convicted of the following:

• aggravated murder with specifications of kidnapping, aggravated robbery, and rape, all with violence specifications;
• kidnapping with a violence specification;
• aggravated robbery with a violence specification;
• rape with a violence specification.

The Ohio Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and sentence.

During the Ohio Supreme Court’s opinion, the court addressed a number of claims raised by Durr’s appeal, including:

• restriction of defense counsel’s questioning during voir dire;
• admission of photographs of the victim’s body;
• the trial court’s handling of hearsay testimony;
• admission of gruesome photographs;
• sufficiency of evidence supporting rape and aggravated robbery convictions and corresponding capital murder specification;
• and multiple challenges to jury instructions and prosecutorial conduct.

In the course of addressing evidentiary issues, the opinion described a hearsay statement and quotation:

• “Q. At the time that you talked with your daughter, what was the subject matter of that? “MR. MILANO: Same objection. “THE COURT: Overruled. “A. That Darryl Durr trashed Angel.”

In discussions of prosecutor conduct, the opinion included verbatim statements in the penalty phase:

• “[MR. MARINO:] This man has taken the stand and talked to you in an unsworn statement never dening [ sic] that he killed that girl, never apologizing that he killed that girl, never explaining to you why he did these things. This is his time. He could have said anything from that witness stand and a man, I think with a little more courage than an aunt [ sic], would have done more than send women to the stand on his behalf and then take the stand and try to create a reasonable doubt in your mind to intimidate you.
  • “The defendant's lack of prior criminal convictions. Will he take the stand with a aworn [ sic] statement? Unfortunately, I don't know how that applies to this case.” “MR. MILANO [defense counsel]: Judge, we have an objection to that. “THE COURT: Sustained. “MR. MILANO: May we request that you instruct the jury to disregard this line, please? “THE COURT: The jury is being instructed to disregard this line. “MR. MARINO: Well, I'm looking to return to this line. The defense counsel did talk to you about it. He did mention it. “If he didn't want me to mention it to you then he shouldn't have talked about it. “MR. MILANO: Objection. “THE COURT: Sustained. “MR. MILANO: And ask the jury to disregard it. It's improper. “THE COURT: The jury will disregard that and counsel will proceed.”

The Ohio Supreme Court held that the rape and aggravated robbery convictions and the corresponding capital murder specification were supported by circumstantial evidence and upheld the death sentence.

Sentencing

Durr was sentenced to death, following the jury’s recommendation.

The death sentence reflected the aggravated murder conviction.

The case’s sentencing information included:

• Presiding Judge: Ralph A. McAllister.
• Convictions:
  • Count 1: Aggravated Murder (Death)
  • Count 2: Kidnapping (15-25 years)
  • Count 3: Aggravated Robbery (15-25 years)
  • Count 4: Rape (15-25 years)

The Ohio Supreme Court stated that aggravating circumstances were proved beyond a reasonable doubt and that the mitigating factors were outweighed by the aggravating circumstances beyond a reasonable doubt.

Appeals

Direct appeal

Durr v. Mitchell, 487 F.3d 423 (6th Cir. 2007) was described as a habeas appeal.

The Ohio Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and sentence in State v. Durr, 58 Ohio St.3d 86, 568 N.E.2d 674 (Ohio 1991).

The Ohio Supreme Court’s opinion included a judgment to affirm the conviction and sentence of death.

Habeas appeal

Durr filed a habeas petition in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division. The district court denied habeas relief as to all claims and declined to issue a certificate of appealability. A certificate of appealability was granted as to three issues: procedural default rulings regarding certain claims; whether denial of certain claims was proper on the merits; and whether evidence of rape was insufficient.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of the habeas petition.

Outcome

Durr’s habeas petition was denied, and the death sentence remained in place.

Durr was executed by lethal injection in Ohio on April 20, 2010.

Aftermath

Witness reactions and comments described in the narrative included remarks by Norma Godsey and Wesley Brewer.

Norma Godsey said: “Oh, I'm so glad.”

Wesley Brewer said: “That son of a bitch is dead,” and also said: “It was too humane. I'd rather have seen him die in the electric chair for what he did to your daughter.”

During execution-related remarks in the narrative, Durr delivered a final statement directed to the Vincent family and others. His statement included:

“To the Vincent family who I believe are here and who believe I have caused so much pain and believe I have murdered their daughter, I am truly sorry you believe that way, having been through that pain myself. I had hoped DNA testing would allow me to prove my innocence, but unfortunately, that's not going to happen.
To my momma minister, we are born in this life in struggle and I planned to go out in a struggle, but I want to make you proud. I'll go out in peace.
To my cousin, please take care of my children. Tell my children and my wife I love them. To my wife, I love her. It's been 20 years in this life and I will see her in the next life.”

At the time of execution, Durr did not request a special last meal. The narrative stated that he spent the day observing what he called a religious fast.

A statement attributed to Julie Walburn stated: “We have no reason to believe he was in any pain whatsoever,” and also: “We have no reason to believe he was in any pain.”