Fred Furnish
Murderer
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- Gender
- male
- Country
- USA
- Location
- Kenton County, Kentucky, USA
- Date of birth
- December 24, 1967
- Age at first offence
- 30
- Characteristics
- burglary, robbery
- Victim profile
- Doris Bertsch, 70 / Ramona Jean Williamson, 66
- Method of murder
- Strangulation
- Date(s) of murder
- 1997 / June 25, 1998
- Years active
- 1997–1998
- Date of arrest
- —
- Status
-
Sentenced to death on July 8, 1999; Kentucky Supreme Court overturned the sentence in 2002 and granted a new sentencing hearing that resulted in a second death sentence on March 25, 2004
Background
Fred Furnish was convicted of strangling and robbing Ramona Jean Williamson, who was 66 years old, in a home-invasion burglary/robbery.
Furnish also pleaded guilty in another case to a home invasion burglary/robbery and strangulation of Doris Bertsch, who was 70 years old.
The offence
Furnish committed a home-invasion burglary/robbery during which he strangled 66-year-old Ramona Jean Williamson.
Furnish pleaded guilty in another case to a home invasion burglary/robbery and strangulation of 70-year-old Doris Bertsch.
Trial
A Kenton County jury sentenced Fred Furnish to death for a second time on Tuesday, March 25, 2004, for the 1998 home-invasion murder of Ramona Jean Williamson.
Furnish was convicted in 1999 of strangling and robbing the 66-year-old Crestview Hills widow Ramona Jean Williamson.
Between Ramona Jean Williamson’s murder and Furnish’s 1999 conviction, the General Assembly created the penalty of life in prison without possibility of parole.
A judge did not allow jurors in Furnish’s trial to consider the new penalty.
The Kentucky Supreme Court overturned Furnish's sentence in 2002 and granted him a new sentencing hearing to include the new penalty.
Jurors were not required to find Furnish guilty again because the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the conviction.
After 2 1/2 hours of deliberation on Tuesday, the jury agreed with the original sentence.
Sentencing
Furnish was sentenced to death on July 8, 1999.
The Kentucky Supreme Court overturned Furnish’s sentence in 2002 and granted a new sentencing hearing.
On March 25, 2004, a Kenton County jury sentenced Fred Furnish to death for a second time.
Appeals
The Kentucky Supreme Court overturned Furnish's sentence in 2002 and granted him a new sentencing hearing.
The Supreme Court unanimously upheld Furnish’s conviction, so jurors were not required to find him guilty again.
Aftermath
While on death row in 2002, Furnish pleaded guilty to the 1997 strangling murder of Doris Bertsch, 70, of Kenton Hills.
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