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Doretta Scheffield

Doretta Scheffield

Released Sunday, 2nd June 2024
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Doretta Scheffield

Doretta Scheffield

Doretta Scheffield

Doretta Scheffield

Sunday, 2nd June 2024
Good episode? Give it some love!
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Episode Transcript

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1:51

were dedicated partners in life

1:53

and love. She wanted them

1:55

to be financially solvent. She wanted them to

1:57

be successful. It was work hard,

1:59

play harder. I think he was pulling in

2:01

over 600,000 a year. They

2:04

did everything right. However,

2:08

on a December evening in

2:10

2011, an unnerving discovery brings

2:12

an abrupt end to a

2:15

more than decade-long union. I

2:17

heard the most just horrific

2:20

shrill of a scream. Uh-oh.

2:24

He definitely has a lot of blood. I

2:26

gotta get him on his back. We gotta roll him over. Your

2:29

husband has a gunshot to the back. No!

2:31

No! Oftentimes

2:34

they will literally remove the gun from

2:36

the scene and hide it, because they

2:38

don't want people to realize that their

2:40

loved ones have committed suicide. Had

2:43

this successful Ohio businessman harbored

2:45

hidden demons? Or

2:47

did he make a few enemies in his way

2:50

to the top? He's so sorry,

2:52

but this is my house. This is gonna be

2:54

my house. They made the comment

2:56

that, you know, I gotta find a way to

2:58

off Randy Sheffield. They

3:00

just pure greed. December

3:19

27, 2011.

3:21

It's the first snowfall of the season in

3:24

Newberry Township, Ohio. Before

3:27

starting his evening route, snowplow

3:29

driver 36-year-old Jason Tibbs stopped

3:32

by the home of his

3:34

boss, 53-year-old Randy Sheffield. I

3:37

wanted to see how long they had already been

3:39

out, because they should have already been out plowing.

3:44

When Jason arrives at the

3:46

Sheffield lawns garage, he finds

3:48

Randy's wife, Doretta, Randy's stepson,

3:51

David Tig rolls, and Tig's

3:53

girlfriend Gina, along with other

3:55

employees gathered inside. As

3:58

for Randy Sheffield, he is a man of his own. still

4:00

unaccounted for. Doretta said

4:02

that he was in the house sleeping.

4:04

He'd been sleeping all day and felt

4:06

good. More often than not, Randy would

4:08

take a nap. He would sleep because

4:11

he was going to be up all night

4:13

long calling the guys on the road. By

4:17

9 30 p.m. there's still

4:19

no sign of Randy. Outside

4:21

the garage, the snowfall is beginning

4:24

to pile up. Doretta

4:26

said, you know, the snow's coming down.

4:28

I should figure out where Randy is. So

4:30

she goes into the house? I

4:32

heard the most just

4:35

horrific shrill of a

4:37

scream. She

4:43

comes running out of the house and I could hear

4:46

her screaming. I can't wake him up.

4:48

Tiggy, he won't get up. Tig

4:50

went running towards the house screaming for me to

4:53

come with him. The heart rate just jumps about

4:55

100 beats a minute instantly and I was entering

4:57

the house and going to the second floor. Saw

5:01

my friend sleeping. Looked

5:03

peaceful. You know, laying

5:05

on his side and I started

5:07

screaming. Randy, get up. Randy,

5:10

get up. No, he didn't move. Tig

5:13

immediately dialed 911. What

5:16

is the problem, sir? He's unconscious. There

5:19

was a little bit of blood coming out, you know,

5:21

on the side of his head where the pillow was. He's a

5:24

keen nervous partner. Do you want to try CPR?

5:26

Yeah, we gotta get a last man. We're gonna

5:28

try CPR. As soon as I

5:30

put my hands on him, I got like

5:32

a lightning bolt of shock. You know, the

5:35

coldness that I felt was just, you could

5:37

see like a bluish purple tint across his

5:39

back like halfway and I was in shock.

5:41

I was absolutely in shock. I knew

5:43

my friend, it was gone. And

5:45

from the sounds of Doretta's screams coming

5:47

from the nearby garage, Jason

5:50

realizes that Randy's wife knows

5:52

it too. She was

5:54

in absolutely hysterical, falling, wailing,

5:57

unbelievably distraught. It was just...

6:00

one of the most horrible things I've ever been through in my

6:02

life. Randy

6:12

Sheffield was born and raised in

6:15

Russell Township, Ohio, east of Cleveland,

6:17

and attended college at the University

6:19

of Akron. He was

6:22

working in the landscaping job to,

6:24

you know, to make money, and then

6:27

when he got out of college, I think

6:29

he just decided that, you know, I could

6:31

do this, I can have my own business, because

6:34

he just wasn't the kind of guy who's going to sit in

6:36

an office all day. My mother became the

6:39

bookkeeper. He had a van and

6:41

a trailer and a lawn mower, and

6:44

from there he built a

6:47

very reputable landscape business, and it was in

6:49

a very affluent part of our county. Along

6:55

the way, Randy had gotten married, but

6:57

by 1988 that

6:59

marriage was over. It didn't last

7:02

more than two or three years, and that that ended

7:04

abruptly and not well. Randy

7:11

was ready to move on and meet

7:14

someone new, but in a place as

7:16

small as Newberry Township, Randy's options were

7:18

slim. In need of a

7:21

change of scenery, he started frequenting

7:23

a nearby town called Chagrin Falls.

7:26

There was like a pub bar

7:28

where the local people would hang

7:30

out, so after he got

7:32

divorced, he was

7:34

going there with some of his friends. And

7:37

one fateful night at the pub called

7:40

the Greenville Inn, he met 40-year-old

7:43

Doretta Boyce. Like

7:46

Randy, Doretta grew up in a

7:48

blue-collar neighborhood on the east side

7:50

of Cleveland, Collinwood, Ohio, just

7:52

a half hour from Randy's hometown.

7:56

Doretta was small but mighty. She was

7:58

a force. She was outgoing. She was

8:00

a strong woman. Doretta

8:03

and her first husband, David

8:06

Roles, senior, had three children,

8:08

Jennifer Bethann and David Tig,

8:10

Jr. She was

8:12

the mom that all of us would want to have.

8:15

You can pick up the phone call Doretta virtually

8:17

at any time. Say, I'm in a bind, I

8:19

need this. Doretta would drop everything and go out

8:21

of her way to try to make that happen

8:24

for you. Doretta would split

8:26

her time between caring for the children

8:28

and working with David, Sr. They

8:31

had a remodeling business together.

8:34

So that's sort of where she got into

8:36

the painting and wallpapering because that

8:38

was their business. However,

8:41

Doretta's picture perfect life eventually

8:43

fell apart when she found

8:45

out that David, Sr. had

8:48

run off. Pretty much

8:50

he abandoned the family. In

8:52

the aftermath of her divorce, Doretta

8:54

and her three children were forced

8:56

to move into a nearby housing

8:58

project to make ends meet. She

9:00

did have her own landscaping painting

9:02

company at that time, but she

9:04

needed help. She tried her

9:07

hardest, but you know, being a single parent

9:09

for anyone is a difficult task. Doretta's

9:12

only escape was a weekly trip to

9:14

the bar at the Greenville Inn. So

9:17

when Randy and Doretta met that night in

9:19

1992, it felt

9:22

like a breath of fresh air for both of

9:24

them. They both just recently

9:26

gone through a divorce and maybe

9:28

they just needed some companionship. After

9:30

a few drinks at the bar, Randy invited

9:33

Doretta to come out to the track with

9:35

him. Randy likes no-mobiling,

9:37

Randy liked dirt bike riding.

9:39

So Doretta came on board

9:41

also and started snowmobiling and

9:43

started dirt bike riding. She

9:49

would hop on the back of any snowmobile or

9:51

motorcycle we had, you know, if not ride her

9:53

own. She went to the races,

9:55

she did all these things, but a lot of women, you

9:57

know, they might go along with for a while, but. She

10:01

just got into it full

10:03

force. Doretta was Modo

10:05

Mom. I mean, I can't even tell you

10:07

how many times the woman washed my

10:09

gear, cleaned my goggles, or made me a

10:11

sandwich. She was great to me, to all

10:13

of us. A

10:16

few months later, Doretta and Randy

10:18

moved in together, along with two

10:20

of Doretta's three children, including 11-year-old

10:22

Tig. During

10:24

the early years, he took him under his wing,

10:27

Tiggy. We taught him how to ride. We'd take

10:29

him camping with us. Randy really kind

10:31

of took him in as his own son. Randy

10:34

was absolutely full-time dad. No question

10:36

about that. Randy was everything to

10:38

the kids, especially Tig.

10:44

Then, in 2002, not long after a health scare, Randy

10:48

and Doretta decided to finally tie

10:51

the knot after 10 years together.

10:54

He became diabetic later in life, and Randy

10:56

just decided he wanted to take care of

10:58

Doretta, make sure she was taken care of.

11:00

So they did get married, and they just

11:02

ran off to the justice of the peace.

11:08

After making things official, Doretta

11:10

closed her wallpaper business and

11:12

joined Randy at Sheffield Lawns.

11:15

Randy liked Doretta to take over the books.

11:18

She was very loyal to him, and seemed

11:20

like she enjoyed being with him and helped

11:22

him keep everything in chip shape.

11:25

And the company became even more

11:27

of a family affair when Randy

11:29

hired on his now-grown stepson, Tig.

11:32

He was one of the crew leaders, pretty

11:35

much the main guy for the company. Randy

11:38

wasn't easy on Tig. He didn't

11:40

just hand him things. Randy actually

11:42

taught that boy everything. For

11:46

years, Randy, Doretta, and Tig lived

11:49

and worked together in the home

11:51

and garage that housed Sheffield Lawns.

11:54

Then, in 2010, Tig brought someone

11:57

new into the mix, his

11:59

girlfriend. 27-year-old hairdresser

12:02

Gina Bataglia. Gina

12:04

Bataglia adored Tig Riles. She just thought

12:06

he was, you know, all that in

12:08

a bag of chips. Gina

12:11

quickly moved in. She was

12:13

pregnant within four months. After Gina

12:15

and Tig's son was born, the couple

12:17

moved out of the Sheffield home. By

12:21

2011, after nearly 20 years together, Randy

12:25

and Doretta were looking forward to an early

12:27

retirement. I think he was pulling in over

12:29

600,000 gross a year. In

12:33

the very near future, Tig can take

12:35

it over, and Doretta and Randy would

12:37

simply go play for a while, right?

12:39

There's snowmobiles and go travel. I

12:41

think he was happy in that sense,

12:43

that he felt he'd accomplished the things

12:46

that he wanted to. Not

12:50

long after, on December 27, 2011, tragedy

12:55

started. Despite the help

12:57

of 911 dispatchers, Randy

12:59

Sheffield's steps on Tig Riles and

13:02

family friend Jason Tibbs are

13:04

unable to rouse him. His chest

13:06

isn't rising at all? No, no,

13:08

there's no pulse. Oh,

13:10

buddy, I'm sorry. But

13:14

how did this giant in the community end up

13:17

dead at just 53 you hate? Coming

13:22

up, a crime scene

13:24

discovery changes the course of the investigation.

13:28

She saw a wound in the back of his head. They

13:31

asked us if, you know, we thought

13:33

Randy would have possibly taken his own

13:35

life, or

13:37

is attempting even more sinister. Somebody said

13:39

there was a changed man in a

13:42

red shirt walking up to his throat.

13:52

On December 27, 2011, friends,

13:56

family, paramedics, and Geauga

13:58

County Sheriff's deputy... converged

14:00

on the home of

14:02

local business owner, 53-year-old

14:04

Randy Sheffield, and his

14:07

wife, 60-year-old Doretta Sheffield.

14:09

Upstairs, paramedics find Randy

14:12

cold to the touch with no

14:14

pulse. He was found laying inside

14:16

the bed. There was a

14:18

little bit of blood on the mattress. Not

14:21

a large amount, but there was blood on the

14:23

mattress. One of his hands was up

14:25

on the bedpost. It was a point of mid-afters trying

14:27

to pry off. The reward is definitely set down. Downstairs,

14:34

in the garage that served as

14:36

the headquarters of Randy and Doretta's

14:38

lawn care company, Doretta is inconsolable.

14:41

Doretta was, I don't even know how

14:43

to explain it properly. She was sobbing

14:45

so bad that mucus was coming out

14:47

of her nose, her mouth, and her

14:49

eyes all at the same time. I

14:52

couldn't even ask her a question. She was rocking

14:55

incessantly back and forth, and

14:58

wasn't saying a word. When

15:00

investigators speak to the friends and family

15:02

gathered at the scene, though, they

15:05

don't seem as stunned as Doretta. He

15:07

was in his fifties, so there's a

15:09

possibility of heart attack. He was diabetic.

15:12

He had health issues from that. For

15:14

all intents and purposes, you know, it looked like he had

15:17

an aneurysm and blood out his ear

15:19

or something. Thought my friend died

15:21

of natural causes. However,

15:24

as EMT deputy Heather Bilisek

15:27

examines Randy's body upstairs, she notices

15:29

something strange. She saw a wound

15:31

in the back of his head,

15:34

and that the wound in the back of the head

15:36

is not consistent with that of an aneurysm, nor

15:39

a heart attack. So she started looking about

15:41

what did he hit his head on, and

15:43

while she was looking for that is

15:45

when she discovered an empty gun lock in

15:47

the dresser. So she started asking

15:51

questions of Doretta Sheffield. Where's the gun that belongs in this

15:53

gun box? And she says, I don't even know.

15:56

I hate guns. I

16:00

don't touch cuts. With a

16:02

dead man and a missing

16:04

gun, Deputy Heather Bilosec realizes

16:07

that this is no heart

16:09

attack. So,

16:11

she sends Doretta and the rest

16:13

of the family and friends to

16:15

the home of Doretta's son, 30-year-old

16:17

Tig Roles and his girlfriend, 28-year-old

16:19

Gina Bataglia. The

16:22

officers on scene, they knew something was

16:24

wrong. Randy was taken to the hospital.

16:26

They did an X-ray and in the

16:28

X-ray they revealed that there was a

16:30

small caliber round in the back. I'm

16:38

thinking, am I dealing with a suicide here? I've

16:41

had many suspicious amounts that I've investigated. The

16:44

family is very sensitive to

16:46

the issue of suicide and oftentimes they

16:48

will literally remove the gun from the

16:51

scene and hide it because they don't

16:53

want people to realize that their loved

16:55

ones have committed suicide. At

16:59

4 a.m., Geauga County deputies ask

17:02

Doretta to come to the station

17:04

for an interview. She's

17:06

very polite, very stoic.

17:08

First thing, you know, I was talking about

17:10

is go through the day. Talk

17:13

to me about what did you do today, what did

17:15

you do yesterday. Doretta

17:17

woke up about 6.30. Randy went to

17:19

McDonald's, got breakfast, it was about 7

17:21

o'clock in the morning. Randy came home,

17:24

started watching TV. He

17:26

said, what's your plan for today? And I told him I

17:28

have to go to your mother's, I have

17:30

to make a deposit. I want to go grocery

17:32

shopping before death comes because I want my pork

17:34

roast in New Year's. Do you want to go

17:37

with me? Good luck. She

17:39

said, no, I don't want to go with you. She

17:41

said that Randy was sitting on the couch

17:43

when she left. From there she did some

17:45

errands, she went to the bank, she went

17:47

to Walmart to pick up some items. She

17:49

went to Gina Bataglia's to get a haircut.

17:52

She tried to try calling us

17:54

home a couple of times, trying to get a hold of him, but

17:56

ended up getting voiced. Loretta

18:00

says that when she returned home around 4

18:02

p.m., she found Randy's

18:04

bedroom door shut tight. I was down

18:06

in the hall in Randy's

18:09

hall, okay? With the

18:11

bedroom door and the bathroom door

18:13

closed. I'm

18:16

sleeping, don't wake me up. She

18:19

thought Randy was in bed probably

18:22

getting rest because he knew what

18:24

the weather was forecasting for that

18:26

day. He knew there was snow coming. What

18:29

do you think, Pam? I

18:32

didn't know. I don't think I had where I...

18:35

I thought he was sleeping. That's

18:37

when investigators disclose the truth

18:40

to Loretta. Your husband has

18:42

a gunshot point to the back of his

18:44

head. No, no. I

18:46

personally thought it was a suicide. I said, if

18:48

your family has the gun, let's just get

18:50

this out in the open now. Could

18:53

he have done this himself? No,

18:55

he wouldn't have hurt himself. That's

18:58

when she becomes hysterical to

19:00

the point where I can't even get her

19:02

back. No. Hours

19:09

after investigators returned Loretta to

19:11

her family, the coroner calls

19:13

detectives with the results of

19:15

Randy's autopsy. In addition

19:17

to examining Randy's stomach contents and

19:20

other standard procedures, the medical examiner

19:22

says that she has also studied

19:24

the location and trajectory of the

19:27

bullet that entered

19:29

Randy's brain. Her determination? This

19:32

was no suicide. We

19:34

have a homicide. On

19:38

the morning of December 28th, Geauga

19:41

County deputies canvassed Randy's neighborhood

19:44

looking for leads. Brenda Brown is

19:46

a neighbor, lives across the street from

19:48

the Sheffields. Brenda

19:51

Brown says she was doing dishes and sees

19:53

a man walking down the street sometime in

19:55

the morning hours. He

19:57

was on the site of him as he was approaching the Sheffield

19:59

residence. And then about 20

20:01

minutes later, she saw the same individual

20:04

going northbound. She said she thought it

20:06

was kind of odd because he seemed

20:08

to be going at a faster rate

20:10

of speed with a distinctive

20:12

limp. The

20:15

limp is important to me. If he was

20:17

involved in this, was he on the property? Did

20:19

he trip over a piece of barbed wire that's

20:21

in the woods as he was running through the

20:23

woods to get away? Did he

20:25

fall coming off the back steps? I

20:29

guess the conclusion would be that it was a burglary that

20:31

had gone bad. Maybe the person had been detected, and for

20:33

that reason, they ended up killing the

20:35

only witness. I know investigators

20:37

went right away to the gas stations

20:39

and the mini-marts in

20:41

the area to pull footage to find

20:43

out who is this guy. Can we

20:46

identify him? When we were

20:48

gathering videos, the BP

20:50

station faces the Sheffield

20:52

residence, and sure enough, we see him trucking

20:54

down the road just like Brenda Brown said,

20:57

walking down 44 South right in front of

20:59

the Sheffield house and goes to the marathon

21:01

station. You know, he buys some candy and

21:03

a pop and looks up at

21:05

the camera in his red flannel shirt and

21:07

proceeds to leave and let's

21:09

walk in the opposite way. We

21:12

sent out flyers. We contact the

21:14

radio stations, TV

21:16

stations, asking for assistance in identifying

21:18

red shirt men. Coming

21:23

up, is this mysterious man

21:25

Randy's killer, or will a

21:27

new interview point investigators toward

21:29

someone much closer to their

21:31

victim? He felt entitled that

21:33

this is my company. This is going to be my

21:35

house. And another

21:38

suspect emerges. She made

21:40

the comment that, you know, I got to find a

21:42

way to off Randy's Sheffield. Hey,

21:51

love listers, with the weather getting warmer, it's

21:53

time to swap out those jackets and thick

21:55

sweaters and say hello to shorts and tees. I

21:58

wanted to update my capsule wardrobe with class. well-made

22:00

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24:01

than 48 hours after Randy

24:03

Sheffield's death was determined to be

24:06

a homicide, police in

24:08

Geauga County, Ohio, are doing everything in

24:10

their power to find and identify a

24:13

man that had been seen in the

24:15

vicinity of the Sheffield's home on the

24:17

day of Randy's murder. We

24:19

jumped right on it. We interviewed

24:21

everybody within a mile perimeter of the

24:24

Sheffield's house in any direction. The

24:29

idea was he had a drifter, somebody

24:31

that was bouncing around different locations. After

24:34

that morning, he was gone and

24:36

he like kind of disappeared. We talked to

24:38

a number of people. We thought it might be him,

24:40

but never were able to

24:42

identify who Red Shirt Man is. On

24:47

December 29, 2011, detectives decide to try one more

24:49

possible source of information. They

24:55

call Randy's stepson, 30-year-old Tig

24:57

Rose, to the station. Tig

25:00

got to the house about one, was in

25:02

that front garage all day. He said

25:04

there was nothing unusual. While he was there,

25:06

nobody unusual came to the house. We really

25:09

harped on the business. Did Randy have

25:11

any enemies in this? Did he fire anybody?

25:14

He said that three black males that

25:16

Randy Sheffield had

25:18

employed were fired, I

25:20

believe, right around Thanksgiving. He

25:23

said that the individuals were

25:25

upset because now they're not

25:27

going to have money for Christmas gifts. To

25:33

get more information about these

25:35

workers, investigators bring 36-year-old Jason

25:38

Tibbs, a

25:40

family friend and former employee at

25:43

Sheffield Lawns, in for an interview.

25:45

I was over there every day. I knew every single

25:48

employee they had at work for him. A lot of

25:50

them had been there for years. There were no three

25:52

black guys. It never happened. I

26:00

don't want to show up on a job anymore. I know

26:02

that he wanted Randy gone. Jason

26:04

says that although Randy and Tig

26:07

were close as father and son,

26:09

they had serious disagreements about the

26:11

direction of the family business. There

26:13

was all this talk about, you

26:16

know, going from just being a

26:18

landscaping, grass cutting, clean up company

26:20

to now we're gonna do hardscapes,

26:22

patios, big construction projects. Randy.

26:25

He wasn't comfortable with it. He was the

26:27

maintenance part of the cutting the grass. Everything

26:29

was done in Randy's way, you know, and

26:31

that's why it was successful. In

26:34

fact, Jason tells investigators that Randy

26:36

had become so successful that he

26:38

had stepped back from most of

26:40

the hard labor of the company,

26:42

leaving Tig to pick up the

26:45

slack. Tig always had this sense

26:47

of entitlement, like he worked

26:49

so hard, he should deserve more than what he

26:51

got. Tigging them with bitch bottom,

26:53

you know, when's he gonna get off his fat ass and help

26:55

us? We didn't have to. You know, his name is on the

26:57

side of the truck. That's his mower.

27:00

However, Jason says that Tig would

27:03

often mention that one day it

27:05

would be Tig's truck and mower. He

27:08

was eager to inherit the business

27:10

and that there was

27:12

some mounting frustration in that he had not

27:14

yet inherited it. He had

27:17

this sense of entitlement that I never understood.

27:19

You know, he felt entitled that this is

27:21

my company. This is gonna be my house.

27:24

According to Jason, that may have been

27:26

a pipe dream. I thought that Randy

27:28

didn't trust any of them to handle

27:30

it. Randy was never going to give

27:33

a business. To Tig, he was never going to

27:35

inherit it. Had Tig found out

27:37

that Randy was going to pass him

27:39

over? He'd lose everything,

27:41

everything. Jason says

27:44

others in Randy's circle believe

27:46

the killer may be someone

27:48

close to home. Another

27:50

mutual friend of ours started saying something like,

27:52

it had to be an inside job. That

27:54

theory becomes even more compelling when...

28:00

Detectives receive a call from

28:02

the best friend of 28-year-old

28:04

Gina Bataglia, Tig's girlfriend. She

28:07

revealed that in November of 2011, Gina

28:12

and her were walking on the square

28:14

in Burton. Gina was

28:16

just raised in a

28:19

storm about how lazy Randy had gotten,

28:22

and he doesn't even get out of the

28:24

air conditioning of his truck anymore. It's really

28:26

Tig's business, and he's the one making all

28:28

the money. That money should be ours. She

28:30

said Gina is always complaining. However,

28:33

the caller alleges that on

28:35

that day in November, Gina went

28:37

too far. She made the comment that,

28:39

you know, I gotta find a way to off Randy

28:42

Sheffield. She

28:44

says that in November, and Randy Sheffield in December

28:47

was found dead in his bed with a gunshot

28:49

to the back of his head. We

28:51

suspected that Gina definitely had some part in

28:53

it. Again, what her

28:55

role was, not 100% sure,

28:58

but we definitely suspected that Gina was

29:00

definitely involved. When

29:04

investigators interviewed Gina Bataglia, they pressed

29:07

her about her whereabouts on the

29:09

day of the murder. Gina

29:11

maintains she didn't arrive at Randy's

29:13

home until late that afternoon, long

29:16

after other employees had arrived at

29:18

the scene. Gina Bataglia maintained that

29:20

she had woken up that morning in

29:22

the apartment, spent time at home, and

29:25

was then visited in the early afternoon by

29:28

Doretta. She came over so that

29:30

she could cut her hair. She said that

29:32

she didn't leave the house until 4.30 when there

29:35

was pizza brought over to the garage. Detectives

29:38

tell Gina that they think that she

29:40

knows more about Randy's murder than she's

29:43

admitting. They confront her and ask her

29:45

about what happened, and Gina kind of loses it

29:47

and says, what are you talking about? At

29:50

one point, Gina literally said, you're

29:52

out of your effing mind. I

29:54

don't know anything about anybody committing

29:57

this crime. What

29:59

was the truth? Following Gina's

30:01

interview, investigators subpoena her cellphone

30:03

records for December Twenty Seventh.

30:06

Two thousand and Eleven. So

30:08

cellphone towers and like a circular

30:10

range. And if you

30:13

put on your cell phone

30:15

tower nearest to your physical

30:17

location. And where the

30:19

Sheffield House is situated. It. It.

30:22

Landed kind of between two of these circles.

30:24

The loves confirm that several of

30:26

Gene as cause that day had

30:29

connected to the tower closest to

30:31

her home, but they also revealed

30:33

something else. On two occasions

30:35

during them morning and afternoon per

30:37

cell phone was bouncing off of

30:39

or another tower face one that

30:41

was over closer to the chef

30:43

your house. Could

30:46

the early morning pain? Confirm that

30:49

Gina was lying if her phone

30:51

and off the town. Close

30:54

to the Sheffield House isn't a

30:56

race for the their. It certainly

30:58

was. However,

31:01

a hunch doesn't quite add up

31:03

to probable cause to make an

31:05

arrest. So investigators turn

31:08

back to the surveillance footage they

31:10

had already gathered from. Area

31:12

gas stations. One of the

31:14

things I did was read.

31:17

Watch those video surveillance

31:19

footage. I believe I

31:21

can't. Say. Hundred

31:23

percent. But I believe that

31:26

I located Gina's registered vehicles

31:28

traveling. Northbound through

31:30

that intersection roughly around

31:33

Seven Twenty Addition Morning.

31:35

About an hour later,

31:38

Rough week the vehicle

31:40

is observed. Traveling.

31:44

I can't see a license plate. I can

31:46

see who's in the vehicle is it. Gina

31:50

visited is g the

31:52

to we don't know

31:54

before detectors can. present their

31:56

findings to a prosecutor they get

31:58

another call A call

32:01

that suggests that this purported

32:03

conspiracy to kill Randy Sheffield

32:05

could be much bigger than

32:07

authorities suspect. I just kind of

32:09

stopped and couldn't

32:12

believe it. Coming

32:15

up, investigators uncover a

32:17

powerful motive for murder. The

32:20

state wanted their money. There's a lien placed

32:22

on the company. But will it all add

32:24

up to an arrest? It's just terrific

32:26

to me. His mother told me at one

32:28

point, I don't know. I'll ever live long

32:30

enough to find out what happened to Randy.

32:41

Investigators in Geneva County, Ohio

32:44

have reason to suspect that Randy

32:46

Sheffield's murder was an inside

32:48

job. Two individuals on

32:51

their suspect list, Randy's

32:53

30-year-old stepson, Tig Roles,

32:55

and Tig's 28-year-old

32:57

girlfriend, Gina Bataglia.

33:01

Now, investigators have received

33:03

a phone call from Rebecca Sheffield,

33:05

Randy's mother. Rebecca is so, so

33:08

sweet. She just said, I want

33:10

to talk to you about a

33:12

visit that I had with Beretta

33:14

that I thought was very unusual.

33:18

According to Rebecca, their discussion

33:20

that day centered on Randy's

33:22

business. In 2003,

33:24

when Randy married Doretta,

33:27

Randy asked his

33:29

mom to let Doretta take care of the

33:31

books. Rebecca didn't necessarily agree with

33:33

that, but she was like, it's what my

33:35

son wanted, it's his business, so I did

33:37

that. Rebecca was

33:39

always quasi-involved, at least in some degree,

33:41

because Randy appreciated the fact

33:44

that she had a sugar and false

33:46

address, which was more desirable than his

33:48

own. She always had received the mail, and so as

33:50

a part of their routine, Doretta would then go and

33:52

collect the mail for the business. her

34:00

son died, she noticed more and

34:02

more letters coming from the Ohio

34:04

Department of Taxation. One day,

34:07

her curiosity got the better of her. She

34:09

opens it up and it shows that there,

34:12

I believe, is a lien placed on the company because

34:14

the company has not been paying

34:16

its taxes. Pended up

34:18

accumulating $100,000 and the state

34:21

wanted their money. Rebecca

34:23

confronts Loretta about this. And

34:25

Loretta says, ah, you know, I know about that. I

34:28

messed up. Please don't tell Randi. Rebecca

34:31

says that Loretta assured her that she

34:33

would have the back taxes paid off

34:35

in a few weeks. Rebecca's not

34:37

okay. I'm not going to make sure there's need

34:39

to be any. She's got to work out. According

34:42

to Rebecca Sheffield, in early December 2011,

34:44

just weeks before Randi's death, her son

34:49

approached her privately at a family

34:51

party. He said, Mom, I'd like

34:53

you to take over your

34:56

previous role as bookkeeper. He just

34:58

said that Loretta's made a mess of the books.

35:00

She's run the business into the ground. That

35:03

raises some red flags to us. In

35:06

light of this new information, investigators

35:08

decide to take a closer look

35:11

at Randi's grieving widow. They

35:13

begin by issuing subpoenas for both

35:15

her and Randi's phone records from

35:18

December 27th. When

35:20

we plugged in the passcode into her cell

35:22

phone, the voicemails came up. And

35:25

there were four from Loretta all on

35:27

the day of the murder, starting at

35:29

10.30 in the morning, telling

35:31

Randi where she's going, what she's

35:33

doing. I'm going to

35:35

see Gina and my grandson. I'm

35:37

going to be there for X

35:39

amount of time. They watch the movie. Here's the name of

35:42

the movie. Details that nobody would

35:44

really, you know, concern themselves about normally.

35:47

For investigators, the level of

35:49

detail looks suspicious, especially when

35:51

they realized that Loretta hadn't

35:53

left her husband a voicemail

35:55

before December 27th. November

36:00

5th and there was

36:03

nothing after that until December

36:05

27th and the first one

36:07

was a friend of his and there was

36:09

nothing in between and then there were four

36:12

from Doretta all on the day of the

36:14

murder. When

36:17

investigators asked Randy's friend Jason

36:19

Tibbs about the voicemails he

36:22

gives a candid response. This

36:30

is a person who doesn't use his phone. The voicemail is a

36:32

useless tool to this person. Why would you suddenly leave

36:34

these? Doesn't that make any sense? Unless

36:37

Doretta wasn't leaving the messages

36:39

for Randy. They stand out

36:42

like a sore thumb. They

36:44

are left there for one purpose,

36:47

one purpose only and it's to

36:49

build Doretta's alibi. It is an indicator

36:51

that this was something that she planned. While

36:55

investigators believe the circumstantial evidence is

36:57

pointing them in the right direction,

36:59

they still need to place their

37:01

suspects at the scene. That

37:04

requires nailing down Randy's time of

37:06

death. When investigators look at

37:08

the autopsy results, they get their

37:11

answer. When you

37:13

die, digestion, Eric

37:15

Armstrong, when she opened up the stomach

37:18

contents, it was still in a perfect

37:20

state. She

37:22

is able to describe the food that

37:24

is in the stomach because digestion had

37:26

stopped. Randy ate

37:29

between 7 and 7.30 and with

37:31

that Eric goes, okay, then he went from 7.30 to 9.30 is

37:33

when he died. And with

37:35

that we have Doretta at home. That

37:41

timeframe though is important for another

37:43

reason. If Gina's car was indeed

37:46

the vehicle seen on the gas

37:48

station surveillance footage, it put her

37:50

squarely in the area of the crime

37:53

around the time of the murder. I

37:55

was like, oh my God, I think this is it. Investigators

37:58

approach the... County prosecutor with

38:01

their evidence against Randy's family. We thought

38:03

we had a case, but because it

38:05

was circumstantial, we could not get the

38:07

prosecutor to go with it. He was

38:09

like, we got one shot at this.

38:12

I just want it to be a better case. We

38:14

need to tighten it up. However,

38:17

before detectives can gather more

38:20

evidence, tragedy strikes. Two

38:22

months to the day, on February 27th, Chardon

38:26

schools have a shooter

38:30

at the school district. Unfortunately, these

38:33

kids are killed, and it is a

38:36

national tragedy. So Randy's case is sort

38:38

of like, OK, but we've

38:40

got to tend to this now. Months

38:43

later, when the school shooting

38:45

investigation is winding down, there

38:47

is a shake up at the department,

38:49

and Randy's case gets filed away. The

38:51

prosecutor announced that he was going to

38:53

be resigning, and he was

38:55

running for Congress, and that

38:58

nothing would be done on this case until a new

39:00

prosecutor came in. It's just horrific

39:02

to me, because I don't understand

39:04

what really happened. His mother told

39:06

me at one point that I don't know if

39:09

I'll ever live long enough to find out what

39:11

happened to Randy. Meanwhile,

39:14

Doretta, Tig, and Gina have

39:16

problems of their own. The

39:18

company started going on again with, of course,

39:20

Randy out of the picture. I

39:24

really thought Tiggy would jump right into his shoes

39:26

and take it over. The business,

39:29

all of a sudden, is taken over by Tig's

39:31

sister, and they changed the

39:33

name. And we were

39:35

told, basically, that Doretta came in and

39:37

just fired Tig and everybody else. Tig

39:40

and Gina were absolutely cut out of

39:42

the business altogether. Doretta and her other

39:45

daughter were supposed to be running this

39:47

company, and really, it just

39:49

ran into the ground. Then,

39:52

in 2013, two years after Randy's death,

39:57

a new prosecutor is finally

39:59

elected. We got a

40:01

grand jury and presents where we

40:03

have to the grand jury and

40:06

they give us the indictments to

40:08

make arrests. All three of

40:10

them a to growls gene of the

40:12

tag Leah Andretti chef know we're all

40:15

charged with. Conspiracy. To commit

40:17

aggravated murder and aggravated. The

40:24

read as Gina and kid

40:26

tastes like increases She was

40:28

trying to think she could

40:30

win, but will a major

40:32

setback for the prosecution jeopardize

40:35

all three cases, the evidence

40:37

or the heirs. We couldn't

40:39

say some there. In

40:48

March two thousand and sixteen four

40:50

years as the Randy Sheffield was

40:52

found murdered in his bed. The

40:54

Red is just feels his stepson

40:57

take roles and tix girlfriend Chino

40:59

the Togliatti are charged with his

41:01

murder. The.

41:04

Fact that rarely found out the business wasn't

41:06

doing good financially because of the back taxes,

41:09

Music, the books away from to read a

41:11

rarely was just to cut them all out.

41:13

she. Was losing everything. Nine was

41:15

she lose and everything but her

41:17

son was losing everything. I think

41:19

the motherly instinct dinners like I'm

41:21

going to protect my family and

41:24

she snaps. Their

41:27

first chance to. Prove their series com

41:29

since September two thousand and sixteen

41:32

when to read as case goes

41:34

to trial. It is a very

41:36

circumstantial case and we don't have a confession.

41:38

We don't have the murder weapon. We'll have

41:40

any witnesses to the murder. And

41:43

the defense takes particular issue

41:45

with a key piece of

41:47

the prosecution's case, the time

41:49

of Randy Sas. Trial

41:52

sense. Very. Focused on

41:54

the fact that there was no

41:56

meat town and. Mcconnell

42:01

things can tell me that was digested

42:03

Sweet sweet. Six thirty in say seven

42:05

thirty eight hours for the to digest.

42:07

There was no meat and stuff we

42:09

can all the time of death in

42:11

the afternoon of which to read his

42:13

whereabouts were to play. we know. And

42:15

there's Fleet Alibi. So

42:17

she had been involved with us. Instead,

42:20

the rid of different directors

42:22

defense team points to someone

42:24

else. The mysterious red man

42:27

seen in the vicinity of the

42:29

Sheffield home on the day as a.

42:31

Merger They harped. On red

42:33

shirt man they said we missed the

42:35

boat because the french or man that

42:37

he was in reality the though man

42:39

who broke into the house and shot

42:41

me and. However,

42:45

when prosecutors present their forensic evidence

42:47

to jurors, they point out what

42:49

they consider a critical detail. The

42:52

bullet went in out similar height

42:54

is Randy was late so they

42:56

weren't standing above Randy. The bullet

42:59

came in at an angle where

43:01

they had to have knelt down

43:03

and been at the same level

43:05

as his head. The shoes. That.

43:10

Fit the burglar. There's a confrontation they're going

43:12

to shoot from a standing position. Whoever

43:17

did this literally had to squat

43:19

down. In the global with his have

43:22

within three feet. On

43:34

September twenty ninth, two thousand

43:37

and Fifteen. After two weeks

43:39

of testimony and twelve hours

43:41

of deliberation, the judge asked

43:43

each individual jury member. For

43:45

their verdict, Guilty Guilty guilty

43:48

guilty. Was.

43:50

Passed by in a world she had a here

43:52

at times. He

43:55

called for jury. They were unanimous.

43:57

I was astonished. When I

43:59

heard that. Really?

44:02

Half mile that feelings of

44:04

my life. On Nov. Source

44:06

director is sentenced to twenty

44:08

seven and a half years

44:10

in prison. With one victory

44:13

under their belt. Prosecutors turn

44:15

their attention to randy step

44:17

son take roles. We. Strongly

44:19

believed at that time that he was

44:21

a part of this conspiracy. However, the

44:23

evidence wasn't there. We couldn't play some

44:25

there. We realize that what

44:27

we had collectively while suspicious of his

44:30

involvement we were not prepared than to

44:32

have him face. Life in

44:34

prison because weeks so that when

44:36

we may the serration. In

44:40

January two thousand and sixteen,

44:43

the last of the alleged

44:45

coconspirators, gene of the tag

44:47

Leah, prepares for trial. Her

44:49

defense plans to contest the

44:51

surveillance footage that allegedly put

44:53

genus. Car near the scene on

44:55

the morning of the murder. she

44:57

had two thousand and one Tmz

44:59

Jimmy I believe. Damn I went

45:01

to Ah a Gmc dealership spoke

45:03

with no less than ten individual

45:06

technicians the are certified Sergio and

45:08

I ask them what the car

45:10

was and they all came up

45:12

with two thousand, seven to eleven

45:14

occasional. Every one of them said

45:16

there's no way that the Gmc

45:18

true. However, even though

45:21

Gene as lawyer is ready to

45:23

sites. Gina

45:25

had talked to. Want to learn? detective. With

45:34

that we were in is

45:36

reached. Between. The to address.

45:41

In my opinion talking directly with

45:43

Venus she made the best decision

45:45

for her family. Her child plead

45:47

out and not roll the dice

45:49

and vote in front of the

45:51

same juri that convicted or else

45:53

for Gina. Director and their supporters,

45:55

the sentences or a grave.

45:57

Injustice we can never.

46:00

Replace Randy Sheffield. But if we

46:02

can't put the right person behind

46:04

bars, we've done him no justice

46:06

either. It's very likely that there

46:08

is still. The. Person out the

46:11

committed this crime is still out there

46:13

in. Could be committing other

46:15

friends. For those close to

46:17

Randy though, the sentences seal like a

46:19

slap on the wrist. Especially

46:22

for a man who gave his

46:24

family. Everything they're really for

46:26

me is no closer. The

46:28

whole incident rip my heart out and

46:30

broke my spirit. after everything that Randy

46:32

did for for her and her shoulder

46:35

and dried is exactly where she should

46:37

be. And she's just stay there

46:39

for the rest of her life. To.

46:46

Reddit has appealed her conviction. She will be

46:48

eligible for. Parole and twenty forty two,

46:50

she will be ninety years old after

46:52

serving. One here. In three months of

46:54

her sentence, Gina Battaglia was released from

46:56

prison on April thirteen. Twenty Second Team.

46:59

Take Roles maintains his innocence.

47:01

His previous indictment was dismissed

47:03

without prejudice. Therefore, Ohio authorities

47:05

can we filed charges against

47:07

him. Said evidence against Take

47:09

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