Coshocton man gets life in prison for murder of Brianna Ratliff
COSHOCTON — Mackenzie Carr said Brianna Ratliff always spoke well of Blake Grewell and wanted Carr to meet him one day. She never thought it would be in a courtroom with Grewell accused of Brianna's rape and murder.
About 40 people broke out in applause as Judge Robert Batchelor adjourned a sentencing hearing for Grewell Wednesday in Coshocton County Common Pleas Court. It was in response to the 20-year-old from Coshocton receiving life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Grewell sat emotionless at the defense table as Batchelor read pieces of numerous letters about how kind, caring and generous Brianna was. Grewell showed no expression as Batchelor also sentenced him to an additional 36 months in prison for tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony, and an indefinite term of 11 to 16.5 years for rape, a first-degree felony.
Even though Grewell has practically no chance of ever leaving prison, Batchelor still had to inform him about registering as a Tier III sex offender and a violent offender, as well as serving five years of post-release control for the rape charge should he ever be released.
Grewell's attorneys argued his age, lack of a criminal record and mental issues reported in a psychological evaluation as mitigating circumstances as they sought the minimum sentence of 20 years to life. While Batchelor noted those items, he couldn't get past the pre-mediation of the brutal murder and lack of remorse Grewell exhibited.
Grewell did apologize in open court, but Brianna's mother, Laurelanne Ratliff, said it was the poorest one she ever heard. Laurelanne, Carr and Brianna's brother, Dylan Ratliff, wept as they gave victim impact statements on how much they missed Brianna and the bright future they knew she had.
Det. Eric DeMattio of the Coshocton County Sheriff's Office recounted his investigation and two interviews he had with Grewell. He lied during the first one, but described the murder in the second. The gruesome details caused one person to bolt from the courtroom in disgust.
Details of the murder
Grewell initially painted a picture of two friends hanging out on April 15. They ate at a fast-food restaurant, went by Brianna's place of work, stopped by her house to get a coat, picked up candy from a gas station and then went up to Hall Park. They parted ways from there.
DeMattio scoured the neighborhood for witnesses and security camera footage. He found a man, who on the night Brianna went missing, spotted a figure dressed in black coming from a church next to a vacant house on Chestnut Street, where Brianna's body was found on April 18.
When DeMattio confronted Grewell a second time he came clean about the two entering the long vacant house that was filled with garbage, clutter and old collectibles. He said they entered the house and Grewell told her to look through a door that connected the living room to the garage.
He picked up a bottle and hit Brianna over the head with it. She went down and asked Grewell what he was doing. He then choked her unconscious. Grewell retrieved a jagged piece of glass from a broken glass door. Photos of Brianna's body indicated she was stabbed with the glass at least six times in the face and throat.
From there, DeMattio said Grewell confessed to pulling Brianna's pants down and taking a dildo out of a bag to use on her. He said there was something wrong with it and instead put a gloved finger in her anus. Grewell then left the house.
Upon arriving at home, Grewell said in his confession that he threw away the gloves, washed his clothes and took a bath. DeMattio said they were able to recover much of the evidence, but not the gloves.
When asked why he committed the murder, Grewell said it was because Brianna wouldn't stop talking about an individual who was not named in court. Batchelor reading from the pre-sentence investigation said Brianna spoke up about a sexual assault involving this person. Batchelor conjectured that's why Grewell staged the rape. The PSI also indicated Grewell had been planning the murder for several weeks.
Prosecutor Jason Given said he wanted DeMattio's testimony and photos of the crime scene to be part of the hearing to demonstrate the extreme nature of the crime committed.
"Det. DeMattio's testimony and photographs submitted into evidence cannot fully convey the panic, the terror, the pain that Brianna Ratliff must have experienced," Given said. "To be capable of doing this to someone he considered to be his friend and, even worse to use that friendship as a tool to groom Brianna, to use that friendship to lure her to that house, to her death, evidences a cold and calculated killer."
Batchelor agreed with Given stating he was sure Grewell would kill again if he ever left prison. Court documents and evidence demonstrated prior calculation and design. There were several points where Grewell could have stopped, but he didn't. Batchelor mentioned the time Grewell used to find the piece of glass that served as the murder weapon.
"Here, you could have said 'no, I'm not going to do it.' She was still alive. You had those moments of contemplation where you could have said to yourself 'this doesn't have to happen,'" Batchelor said. "She was with you, because she was your friend."
Loss of a bright light
Grewell said he knew public apologies had very little meaning at this point, but he still wanted to offer one.
"I want everyone to know I'm very sorry and very ashamed of what I did. It was horrible. Every day, I wish I could take it all back and never had done it," he said. "Every day, I pray it was some terrible nightmare and one day I'll wake up and she'll still be here and everything will be okay."
The statement gave Laurelanne no comfort. She trusted Grewell almost as much as Brianna did. How he could kill her and stage a sexual assault boggled her mind. She noted no sincerity in his voice.
"She would have took a bullet for you. She loved you more than anything. You were part of the small circle of people she trusted," Laurelanne told Grewell. "When she went on the walk that day, she didn't take pepper spray. She didn't take anything because she had you. I don't understand how you could betray someone like that. How you could do that. To me, you're a monster."
Laurelanne then told Batchelor she didn't write a victim impact statement because she couldn't find the words.
"My daughter was a feeling. She was love, she was compassion, she was empathy. She was kind to everybody and she tried to make everybody's day brighter and everybody smile," Laurelanne said.
Batchelor said that was consistent with letters he received from family, friends and community members. Former teachers from the Coshocton County Career Center and River View Schools said she stood up to bullies and helped disabled students. One letter called Brianna "a gift to this world."
Carr said she first met Brianna when they joined the cosmetology program at the career center. Carr thought she would be a loner, like she always was, but an old friend from elementary school came up to say hello and then introduced Brianna.
"My first thought about Bri was that she was so small. We just clicked and bonded over art, music, anime, everything you can name. It shocked me because I never bonded so well with someone," Carr said. "The first thing other than her height that stood out was how contagious her smile and laugh were. It could brighten up a room and anyone's day."
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This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: Coshocton man gets life in prison for murder of Brianna Ratliff
