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Genis McGuire Jr.
A317403

On the evening of January 5, 1995, McGuire met his co-defendant, Willie Ledford, at the Cottage Bar in Franklin, Ohio. While there, Ledford showed McGuire a knife with a straight razor blade. McGuire and Ledford left the Cottage Bar and went to a second and then third bar. Sometime after midnight on January 6, 1995, they decided to go to the Dairy Mart store located on East Second Street in Franklin, Ohio. Upon arriving at the Dairy Mart, Ledford produced the knife and went into the store while McGuire waited in the car. Ledford attempted to take money out of the cash register and then grabbed the clerk on duty, Ellen New, by the hair and drug her out of the Dairy Mart into the waiting automobile. Ledford struck the victim several times and cut her with the knife. As they attempted to flee, Ledford continued to beat Ellen New. He grabbed her hair and stabbed her in the chest as well as cut her throat. McGuire and Ledford went to a nearby country road and dumped her body. They then drove back to Franklin but ran out of gas near the north end of town. McGuire, using lighters stolen from the Dairy Mart, set the car on fire in an attempt to conceal evidence. After being indicted, McGuire ultimately pled guilty to aggravated murder and was sentenced to life in prison with parole eligibility after twenty years. McGuire testified against Ledford, implicating Ledford as the principal offender. Interestingly, the three-judge panel who heard the Ledford case found that Ledford was not a “principal offender”. This is consistent with the opinions of law enforcement who believed at the time, and still believe, that McGuire was much more involved than he admitted.

Location: Chillicothe Correctional
Offenses: Complicity to Aggravated Murder
Min Sentence: 20 years
Max Sentence: Life
Date Admitted: 8/31/1995
Next eligibility Hearing Date:
4/1/2025

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