Madison County jury convicts Columbus man of 2021 quadruple homicide in West Jefferson
A Madison County jury on Friday convicted a man of killing four people in West Jefferson in a mass shooting in May 2021.
John Paul Steckel, 37, was immediately sentenced to four life sentences with no chance of parole, according to West Jefferson police. He also was given an additional 12-year sentence for weapons charges.
The Madison County Common Pleas Court jury deliberated for more than four hours Friday before finding Steckel guilty of killing Andrew Swindall, 45, of West Jefferson; Shawn Wright, 45, and Leon Daniels, 38, both of London; and Jamie Lavender, 30, of Springfield, on May 24, 2021.
"Our hearts go out the victims' families and our prayers are forever with you," West Jefferson police said in a statement.
Before his arrest, Steckel's last known address was the streets of Columbus. He was released from federal prison in January 2021 on a charge of illegal possession of a gun.
After his arrest in connection with the shootings, police said Steckel, known as JP, knew the victims and that robbery was a possible motive.
All four victims were shot multiple times.
A passerby called 911 on May 24 to report that he and a relative leaving work at a nearby warehouse found a man lying outside of an entryway at the north end of an apartment house on the 100 block of Jackson Street. The victim had an apparent gunshot wound to the face and was dead, he reported.
West Jefferson police and Madison County Sheriff's deputies responding to the scene soon found three more victims inside the apartment house on Jackson, just north of Burnham Street. The area where the apartment is located is a dead end and is next to a series of fields.
It was the first homicide case in nine years in West Jefferson, a village of just more than 4,000 people located on the eastern edge of Madison County, about 18 miles from Columbus.
mawilliams@dispatch.com
@BizMarkWilliams
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Madison County jury convicts Columbus man in 2021 quadruple homicide
