Erica Lynn Orta

Case information

Erica Lynn Orta pleaded guilty to murdering her mother, Diane Acton, in Defiance County and was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison on March 31, 2005. Her sentence was later increased by 10 years on September 1, 2005.

Timeline

• Late August (year not stated) — Orta and Joseph Williams went to Orta’s mother’s home in Defiance with the plan to steal her jewelry.
• Aug. 31 (year not stated) — Orta strangled her 48-year-old mother, Diane Acton, in the kitchen of Ms. Acton’s Defiance home.
• Sept. 4 (year not stated) — Ms. Acton’s body was found in the trunk of her car in an impound lot in Lima, Ohio.
• March 31, 2005 — Orta was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.
• September 1, 2005 — Orta received an additional 10-year sentence, increasing her total sentence from 15 years to life to 25 years to life.

Background

Orta was married and a mother of three children. Her husband, Dan (also referred to as Daniel) Orta, was imprisoned on domestic violence charges. Orta was described as homeless, addicted, and having a long criminal record that included a juvenile record, and misdemeanor drug charges.

Her attorney, Stephen Archer, said that the children included two in foster care and that proceedings were under way to take her third child away from her permanently. An 8-year-old son Erica bore from another relationship was in the care of his father. Dan Orta was described as living in Defiance, while Orta remained in the Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio.

Orta’s mother, Diane Acton, was described as a widow, and there were years of problems between Orta and her mother. Orta’s husband said the relationship was marked by domestic violence against her, and her husband had been held for domestic violence against her.

The offence

Orta and Joseph Williams went to Orta’s mother’s home in Defiance intending to steal her jewelry. After they arrived, Orta’s rage took over. Diane Acton was strangled.

After choking her 48-year-old mother in the kitchen of Ms. Acton’s Defiance home, Orta dragged her outside, bound her with duct tape, and put her in the trunk of her car with help from Williams, according to an arrest warrant. Orta drove her mother’s car to Lima and abandoned it there with her mother’s body still in the trunk.

An autopsy showed Ms. Acton died of asphyxiation. The value of some of Ms. Acton’s jewelry was estimated at several thousand dollars; some pieces were recovered and other pieces were not recovered.

Investigation and custody information

Police arrested Erica Orta of Lima late Thursday; Joseph Williams of Lima was also arrested. Williams was charged with tampering with evidence. Police said the crime occurred at Acton’s home in Defiance and had not said what the motive for the killing was.

Orta’s co-defendant, Joseph Williams, had a lengthy record, including stints in prison for robbery crimes and drug possession. Williams was described as a 43-year-old felon she thought of as her boyfriend, and Prosecutor Jeffrey Strausbaugh said Orta and Williams were prepared to confront her mother.

Williams was held in Ohio prisons for:

• aggravated robbery from 1987 to 1999
• possession of drugs from 2000 to 2001 Williams’ charges included complicity in the commission of aggravated murder, complicity in the commission of murder, conspiracy to commit aggravated murder, and conspiracy to commit murder. His trial was scheduled for Nov. 30 (with mention that it was delayed at his attorneys’ request).

Arrest and related charges against the co-defendant

Joseph Williams was arrested and faced charges including complicity and conspiracy relating to aggravated murder and murder, as well as tampering with evidence.

Orta pleaded guilty in Defiance County Common Pleas Court to one count of murder.

Plea and trial proceedings

Orta changed her plea several times. In the spring before her March 31, 2005 sentencing, she pleaded guilty to murdering her mother and was described as having tried unsuccessfully to change her plea back to not guilty again minutes before she was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison in the spring.

Orta let a plea bargain deal she made fall apart when she refused earlier this month to testify against her co-defendant, Joseph Williams, as she had promised. Prosecutors said that when she refused, they were forced to drop their charges against him.

Orta stated that she did not testify against Williams because she wanted to change her own plea back to not guilty and had been told that testifying against him could hurt her defense. Prosecutor Jeffrey Strausbaugh asked the court to schedule a trial for Orta on remaining charges after sentencing, and Orta faced charges again, including aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, grand theft of a motor vehicle, and theft.

Sentencing

March 31, 2005 — murder sentence

Orta was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for murdering her mother, Diane Acton.

Judge Joseph Schmenk read from a list of Orta’s previous convictions, including an extensive juvenile record that included felonious assault and drug paraphernalia, before going on to disorderly conduct, theft, obstruction of justice, and drug possession charges blotting her adult record. Judge Schmenk said the prison sentence of 15 years to life was mandatory and he saw no point in fining Orta because she was indigent.

Orta declined to make a statement in court.

September 1, 2005 — additional sentence

On September 1, 2005, Orta had 10 years added to a 15-years-to-life sentence she previously received.

Orta was sentenced in Defiance County Common Pleas Court to 10 years after pleading guilty to aggravated robbery and tampering with evidence. The sentence of seven years for aggravated robbery and three years for tampering with evidence followed Prosecutor Jeffrey Strausbaugh’s recommendation.

Judge Joseph Schmenk could have added up to 15 years to her sentence and fined her up to $30,000 for the two crimes. She was not fined; her only income was described as $17 a month paid to serve lunch in the cafeteria of the state’s prison for women in Marysville, Ohio, where she had been held since April.

Appeals

Orta told reporters after the September 1, 2005 sentencing that she would file an appeal.

Outcome

Orta pleaded guilty and received a murder sentence of 15 years to life. She later received additional consecutive sentencing components after pleading guilty to aggravated robbery and tampering with evidence, increasing her overall sentence to 25 years to life.

Aftermath and personal details

Orta declined to make a statement in court but told The Blade afterward that she would file an appeal. Orta and her husband, Dan, vowed after the March 31, 2005 hearing to appeal Judge Schmenk’s decisions.

Orta’s cousin, Lisa Bishop, asked the court to remember the suffering of Orta’s mother, Diane Acton, describing that Orta choked her to death and saying: "I can't even begin to imagine the horror she went through," Ms. Bishop said in a tearful statement. "Erica, because of you I had to bury my aunt and my friend."

Orta said afterward her mother had thrown her out of the house when she was 13 after fights that Orta blamed on her mother’s problems with alcohol.

Orta wrote to Judge Schmenk in a November letter asking to change her plea back to not guilty. In that letter, Orta wrote: "As you know I recently pleaded guilty to murder. At the time, I was confused and truly overwhelmed with everything going on. Now that I have had time to comprehend my situation, I realize my counsel failed to try and present the court with a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter, based on a very good argument that the killing occurred during the heat of passion."

Prosecutor Jeffrey Strausbaugh said the planned confrontation was prepared for, and later called the sentence appropriate, stating: "She was the primary offender in this circumstance anyway," he said.

Prosecutor Jeffrey Strausbaugh also stated at the earlier sentencing proceedings: "This was just an absolutely brutal and senseless killing," and then said he sought to delay Orta’s parole eligibility by scheduling a trial on remaining charges.

Orta said against the advice of her attorneys she asked to change her plea back to not guilty and said: "They don't want to defend me." She added: "They just want me to take a plea bargain."

Orta also said: "I'm not guilty of everything they charged me with," and added that she was "not quite sure" if she was guilty of any of the charges.

Stephen Archer, Orta’s attorney, said: "basically moved from crack house to crack house," and said: "I don't think she wished it to happen." Archer also said: "There's a lot of irregular things in the whole family history."

On Williams’ description of the relationship, Archer said: "sex and drugs," Mr. Archer said.

Other people

• Joseph Williams — Orta’s co-defendant; described as 43-year-old felon; charges included complicity and conspiracy to commit aggravated murder and murder; trial scheduled for Nov. 30; accused in connection with helping place the victim’s body in the trunk.
• Joseph Schmenk — judge who sentenced Orta.
• Jeffrey Strausbaugh — Defiance County Prosecutor; recommended sentencing components and commented on the appropriateness of the sentence.
• Stephen Archer — Orta’s court-appointed attorney.
• Lisa Bishop — Orta’s cousin who made a statement at sentencing.
• Dan Orta / Daniel Orta — Orta’s husband; held on domestic violence charges; described as released from prison in the narrative.