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Dublin wife loses appeal in 2018 murder conviction
KEITH ARNOLD
Special to the Legal News
Published: March 7, 2024
A Tenth District appellate panel recently upheld the murder conviction of a 47-year-old Dublin woman in the shooting death of her husband, Chris Osborn, in 2018.
The three-judge panel was unconvinced by the arguments Holli Osborn raised in her appeal of the jury’s decision in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.
She claimed, among other arguments, that her Fourth Amendment protection against warrantless searches was violated by investigators and that her conviction was contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence.
Tenth District Judge Kristin Boggs reasoned that probable cause existed for police investigators to conduct gunshot residue, or GSR, testing as determined by the appellate court in State v. Jarrell in 1996.
“When police officers arrived at the scene, Holli was the only person in the home with Dr. Osborn’s body,” Boggs wrote in the 3-0 decision. “The police found guns on the floor in the couple’s bedroom, which was protected by a keypad lock outside the master bedroom door. As in Jarrell, the GSR evidence was highly evanescent evidence that was susceptible to destruction from simple activities like wiping one’s hands or touching one’s face or other objects.”
Boggs wrote that police officers observed the woman touching her face and the table and drinking water––all activities that could destroy the potential evidence necessary for a GSR test.
“Here, the samples for the GSR test were taken with minimal intrusion on Holli by running a swab along her hands and eyebrows,” Boggs continued. “We find that the collection of samples for the GSR test does not run afoul of the Fourth Amendment … and was supported by probable cause.”
According to case summary, Dublin police responded to a 911 call reporting a deceased person at the Osborn residence the morning of July 18, 2018.
Officers found Chris Osborn face down in bed with an apparent gunshot wound to the head and two guns on the floor next to the bed. Holli Osborn was the only other person in the home at the time of officers’ arrival.
They noted that the woman appeared impaired, summary detailed. An officer later testified that Holli Osborn indicated she had been drinking and had taken prescription medications.
She told another officer that she woke up around 6:30 a.m., had gone to the home’s garage to smoke cigarettes and that when she came back inside, her husband was still in bed.
When she went to check on him, she said she noticed blood and made several unsuccessful attempts to call 911. Ultimately she was able to call her father using Alexa, and he called 911, testimony provided.
Officers took the woman to the Dublin Justice Center as she appeared too intoxicated to drive and allowed her to sleep, summary continued.
An officer asked around 10:15 a.m. if she would consent to a GSR test after officers observed the woman touching her face and other objects. She consented and two detectives took swab samples.
Officers began a formal interview of the woman around 2:50 p.m., at which time she was read her rights. She confirmed she understood those rights, signed a waiver and provided coherent answers, police said. She asked for an attorney around 5:22 p.m., ending the formal interview.
She was indicted on two counts of murder with a firearm specification attached to each count April 12, 2019, summary detailed.
Osborn filed two subsequent motions to suppress evidence and statements taken while in police custody––both of which were denied by the trial court.
A jury trial commenced Sept. 26, 2022.
On Oct. 6, 2022, the jury returned a verdict finding the woman guilty of both counts of murder and both firearm specifications.
She was sentenced Nov. 3, 2022, to 15 years to life with a mandatory, consecutive 36-month sentence for the firearm specification, for a cumulative prison sentence of 18 years to life, summary provided.
Boggs cited the Ohio Supreme Court’s decision in Eastley v. Volkman in 2012 in consideration of Holli Osborn’s argument that her conviction is against the weight of the evidence.
The high court held that a challenge to the manifest weight of the evidence presents a question of persuasion.
“Here, Holli argues that the evidence supporting her conviction was scant because forensic witnesses could not conclusively confirm which firearm fired the bullets that caused Dr. Osborn’s death and that forensic experts could not definitively say that Holli fired the gun that killed Dr. Osborn,” Boggs wrote. “She also argues that the Dublin police failed to fully investigate other potential leads, including unexplained indentations in the grass outside Dr. Osborn and Holli’s home, a $2 million life insurance policy to Dr. Osborn’s ex-wife and four people entering the home after the homicide and potentially removing items.”
Boggs reasoned that a reversal on manifest weight grounds is warranted only in exceptional cases in which the evidence weighs heavily against conviction.
The judge wrote that reversal was not warranted in this case.
“During a lengthy trial, the jury heard testimony from a variety of experts and witnesses. The jury also reviewed hundreds of text messages that show a volatile relationship between Dr. Osborn and Holli,” Boggs continued. “Witnesses testified that they had argued in the days leading up to his death and that the couple was approaching separation after Dr. Osborn obtained the phone number of a bartender.”
Jurors also considered testimony from the forensic experts and the positive GSR test, the court noted.
“She was also the only person inside the home when police answered the 911 call. All this considered, we do not see the evidence weighing heavily against the conviction and we cannot conclude that the jury clearly lost its way in returning a guilty verdict,” Boggs concluded.
Tenth District judges Betsy Luper Schuster and David Leland concurred in the ruling.
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