Joe Metheny

Case record: Joe Roy Metheny

Status

Joe Roy Metheny was sentenced to death on November 13, 1998. The death sentence was overturned on July 24, 2000.

Background

Joe Metheny was 41 when authorities charged him with killing three women on December 19, 1996. Authorities said he preyed on women with drug or alcohol problems.

Metheny was acquitted in July in the ax slayings of two homeless men in August 1995. A Circuit Court jury concluded there was insufficient evidence to convict Metheny of killing the two men in a makeshift village called "Tent City" in south Baltimore.

Metheny was also being held without bail.

At the time of sentencing in the Magaziner case, Metheny was serving life without parole for the murder of Kimberly Spicer in 1996, and 50 years for an attempted sex offense and the kidnapping of Rita Kemper, also in 1996.

The offence

Authorities alleged that Metheny killed three women.

• The first charge concerned the killing of a 26-year-old woman, Kimberly Spicer. Authorities said he met her at the Borderline Bar and Restaurant in Arbutus, a Baltimore suburb.
• The second charge concerned the killing of Toni Ingrassia, a 28-year-old woman whose body was found in 1994 near Interstate 95, a short distance from the company. She was stabbed and strangled.
• The third charge concerned a decapitated body of an unidentified woman.

Police also looked for the remains of a fourth victim, a man, after Metheny allegedly confessed killing him.

A Circuit Court jury and later appellate proceedings addressed the Magaziner case. Metheny confessed to killing Cathy Ann Magaziner in 1994 near the Southwest Baltimore pallet company where he worked.

Metheny was charged with robbery, and the Maryland Court of Appeals later found insufficient evidence that Metheny had robbed the woman, which the appeals court treated as the aggravating circumstance that allowed prosecutors to seek the death penalty. The appeals court agreed with the view that the removal of items and their location did not satisfy the robbery aggravating factor for death penalty eligibility.

Metheny used graphic language in begging the jury for the death penalty. He told the jury:

"The words `I'm sorry' will never come out, for they would be a lie. I am more than willing to give up my life for what I have done, to have God judge me and send [me] to hell for eternity."

He later said he killed because:

"I just enjoyed it."

Investigation

Metheny’s victims included women authorities said had drug or alcohol problems.

The decomposed body of Kimberly Spicer was found under a trailer less than 10 feet from Metheny's own at the Joseph Stein and Son pallet company.

Toni Ingrassia’s body was found in 1994 near Interstate 95, a short distance from the company.

Police found a decapitated body of an unidentified woman.

Police also sought the remains of a fourth victim, a man, after Metheny allegedly confessed killing him.

Arrest

Metheny was arrested for the slaying of Kimberly Spicer.

In the Magaziner case, the case was moved from Baltimore to the county, where Metheny pleaded guilty to murder and robbery. At the time of sentencing for Magaziner, Metheny was already serving life without parole for Spicer.

Trial

In the ax slayings of two homeless men in August 1995, the Circuit Court jury concluded there was insufficient evidence to convict Metheny of killing them in "Tent City" in south Baltimore.

For Cathy Ann Magaziner, a Baltimore County jury sentenced Metheny to death.

• The jury deliberated for slightly more than two hours before sentencing him.

Metheny also had legal representation; his lawyer, Margaret Mead, said after the appeals decision that she had not spoken to Metheny but suspected he would be happy, even though he told the jury he wanted to die.

Mead stated:

"made the right decision"

Mead also said the purse and clothing were simply "left" after Metheny killed Magaziner. Mead said Metheny pleaded guilty to the robbery charge against the advice of his lawyers.

Mead stated:

"Once the fanfare was over, he realized he really does want to live,"

Sentencing

Metheny received a death sentence for the murder of Magaziner. The appellate court later described the aggravating circumstance as the alleged robbery. The appeals court determined there was insufficient evidence that Metheny had robbed the woman.

When sentenced, Metheny was serving life without parole for Spicer and 50 years for an attempted sex offense and the kidnapping of Rita Kemper, all in 1996.

The Maryland Court of Appeals overturned the death verdict on July 24, 2000, and sent the case back to Circuit Judge James T. Smith Jr. The appeals court said its action could lead to a life sentence without parole for Metheny.

Judge James T. Smith Jr. had expressed "personal reservations about the sentence" in a report to the state’s highest court after the jury sentenced Metheny to death. The report noted:

"Another person who had killed their victim ... but buried the victim in her clothes would not qualify for the death penalty,"

The judge noted that Metheny had been charged with robbery only because the body and the clothing were found in different locations.

Appeals

The Maryland Court of Appeals overturned Metheny’s death sentence on July 24, 2000.

The Court of Appeals found insufficient evidence that Metheny had robbed the woman, and therefore removed the robbery aggravating circumstance that allowed prosecutors to seek the death penalty.

The appeals court action sent the case back to Circuit Judge James T. Smith Jr., and the appeals court noted Smith’s personal reservations about the sentence.

Outcome

Metheny’s death sentence was overturned on July 24, 2000. The appeals court’s decision could lead to a life sentence without parole.

The broader record indicates that after his death penalty sentence was overturned, Metheny received another life without parole and was sent down for the rest of his life.

Aftermath

Michael Newton’s encyclopedia entry described Metheny as having been indicted in the early 1990’s murders of Kimberly Spicer, Toni Lynn Ingrassia, and Catherine Magaziner, and reportedly having confessed to killing 10 women in the Baltimore area.

Metheny also described his legal outcomes in an autobiographical account included with the case information:

• He stated he was only convicted of two murders and one kidnapping for the one that got away.
• He stated he received 50 years for “her.”
• He said he was sentenced to life without parole for the first murder.
• He said the second murder resulted in the death penalty.
• He stated that after sitting on Maryland’s death row for 3 years, his sentence was overturned and he received another life without parole and was sent down for the rest of his life.
• He stated he killed seven people, three men and four women, including two homeless men chopped up with an axe under a bridge in South Baltimore, where he said he was found not guilty because they could not prove he did it.
• He stated under the same bridge he also killed two women and one man who was fishing, weighed down in a river, and that he showed police where he put them about 3 years later but they could not find them, so he said they could not charge him for them.
• He stated his murder rampage started as revenge but ended as a passion for the taste of blood and the overwhelming sense of power for taking a life.

Other details

Statements and quotations in the included confession account

Metheny began his account by saying:

"To start out I will tell you about myself at the present moment, which is locked up."

He described his age and confinement:

"I am 48 years old, I weigh about 450 pounds and it's not all fat."

He said:

"I've been locked up for almost 8 years now, but when one has been sentenced to a couple of life without parole sentences, time doesn't matter anymore."

He said:

"I have no problem with being locked up, for no one put me here but myself."

He said:

"And I deserve to be right where I'm at, cause I had 12 law-abiding jurors that told me so, in a couple different cases."

He stated:

"Ha! Ha! I was only convicted of two murders and one kidnapping for the one that got away."

He stated:

"I got 50 years for her."

He said:

"The first murder I was sentenced to life without parole."

He said:

"The second one they gave me the death penalty."

He said:

"I sat on Maryland’s death row for 3 years, and then they overturned my sentence and gave me another life without parole and sent me down here for the rest of my life."

He described the number of people he said he killed:

"I killed seven people, three men, and four women."

He described chopping up two men:

"Two men I chopped up with an axe under a bridge in South Baltimore."

He said:

"I was found not guilty for them cause they couldn't prove I did it."

He described what he said happened under the bridge:

"Under that same bridge I also killed two women and one man who was fishing, who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

He said:

"I weighed their bodies down and put them in that river."

He said:

"I showed the police where I put them about 3 years later, but they couldn't find them. So they could not charge me for them."

He described his claimed motive:

"My murder rampage started out as revenge but ended up as a passion for the taste of blood and the overwhelming sense of power one gets for taking the life of another."

He described his description of his employment and circumstances:

"It all started back in July of 1994. I was at work, I was a truck driver. I was working overtime this one night. Then I got off and went home as I always did."

He said:

"But when I opened the door and turned on the light, I noticed there was nothing there."

He said his partner took items and his son:

"My ole lady had taken everything including my son and left me."

He said:

"Her leaving was not my problem. But she took my 6-year-old son with her."

He said about his partner:

"She was a crack addict and a worthless piece of shit."

He said:

"All she had to do was take my son over to my mothers house and she could have had everything else and be gone."

He described the later situation with his son and the other couple:

"I found out about 6 months later she had moved on the other side of town with some asshole that had her out selling her ass for drugs."

He said:

"They got busted for drugs and they took my son away from them for child neglect and child abuse."

He stated:

"I had no chance of going to social services and trying to get my son back do to my past criminal record."

He said he went looking for them:

"So I took it upon myself with the hatred I had for these 2 who lost my son, to go looking for them."

He said he went under a bridge:

"They was going under that bridge and getting high with some homeless motherfuckers who lived under that bridge."

He described killing and sexual assault in the autobiographical account:

"I lured the first crackwhore down under that bridge. I got her high and was trying to get information out of her about my ole ladies whereabouts."

He said:

"She acted like she didn't know, so I beat the hell out of her and raped her ass then killed her."

He described luring another woman:

"I put her in some bushes and went and lured the second bitch down there."

He said:

"I did the same to her as the last one, but as I was about to throw her in the bushes with the other one I noticed an old blackman down by the river fishing looking back up at me."

He said:

"I grabbed a steel pipe that was lying by and ran down on him and layed his head wide open."

He described disposing of bodies:

"So I put the two girls and him in the river and weighed them down with rocks."

He described killing “within about 7 hours”:

"That was a very busy night for me 5 murders within about 7 hours."

He described washing up:

"I washed up in that river and cleaned up the crime scene as much as I could, then left."

He described arrest and waiting for trial:

"2 1/2 weeks later I was arrested and charged with the murders of the 2 men I chopped up."

He said:

"I spent close to 18 months in Baltimore City Jail waiting to go to trial."

He described the first trial outcome:

"The trial lasted 1 week and it was thrown out of court cause of lack of evidence."

He said he got his job back:

"I went back and talked my old boss into giving my job back to me at the pallet company."

He described isolating himself at the company:

"There was a little trailer on the property, so I told my boss to let me stay there and I could keep an eye on the place."

He said:

"He agreed to this and gave me the keys to the front gate and main building."

He described luring two more women:

"The company was on a dead end road and was very isolated. It was perfect for what I wanted to do. I lured 2 more crackwhores up there to my trailer. I killed and butchered their bodies up."

He described storage and burial:

"I cut the meat up and put it in some Tupperware bowls then put it in a freezer."

He said:

"I buried the remains in several shallow graves in a little woods behind the company."

He described selling food:

"Over the next couple weeks on the weekends I opened up a little open-pit beef stand."

He said:

"The human body tastes was very similar to pork. If you mix it together no one can tell the difference."

He described another attack that resulted in escape:

"Everything was going pretty good until I ran out of my special meat."

He said:

"So I lured another bitch up to my trailer. I got her in there and started to rip her clothes off and knocking the hell out of her."

He said:

"She was screaming, but there was no one around to hear her except me."

He said:

"And I just kept on laughing at her."

He described her escape:

"She ran out the door before I could get to her."

He described the fence and escape route:

"There was an 8-foot chain link fence with barbwire on top of it around the front of the company."

He said:

"A stack of wooden pallets next to the fence about 10 feet high."

He said:

"That bitch scaled those pallets like a monkey and jumped the fence, and ran down to the main road where some guy in a pickup truck picked her up and took her to a nearby gas station where they called the cops."

He said he did not flee:

"Well I knew the cops were on the way, but I didn't run."

He described what he did next:

"I gathered up her clothing, grabbed the keys to the gate, and went out and opened it."

He described police confrontation:

"Soon as I step out the gate a cop car pulled up."

He said:

"And the cop jumped out and pulled his gun on me and told me to get on the ground."

He said:

"And that is where it all came to an end."

He described interrogation and transport:

"And they took me down and booked me."

He described the interrogation:

"She had told them that I said I was going to kill her like the rest. Which was true."

He said:

"They had me sitting in a little room down at homicide drilling me and damn near kissing my ass."

He said:

"Trying to find out what I had done."

He described transfers:

"They pulled me out of city jail everyday for 1 month taking me back and forth between the company and the bridge."

He described remaining discovery:

"I had they going crazy over at the company digging up the remains of those 2 bitches there."

He described the burial locations:

"Cause I had their remains buried in 7 different holes."

He concluded with a remorse statement and motive commentary:

"The only thing I feel bad about in any of this, is I didn't get to murder the 2 motherfuckers I was really after."

He said:

"Well that's my story, horrible but true."

He advised about eating:

"So the next time you're riding down the road and you happen to see an open pit beef stand, that you've never seen before, make sure you think about this story before you take a bite of that sandwich."

He added:

"Sometimes you never know who you may be eating."

He finished with:

"Ha! Ha!"

Other biographical and case-description details included

Michael Newton’s entry included the following metadata as presented:

• SEX: M
• RACE: W
• TYPE: T
• MOTIVE: Sex./Sad.
• DATE(S): 1976-95
• VENUE: Baltimore, Md.
• VICTIMS: 10 confessed
• MO: Admitted mutilation-murders of men and women.
• DISPOSITION: Life term on one count, 1997; condemned on second count, 1998.