Prosecution Believes Murder was Financially Motivated
“The first three people I suspected are the three that are under arrest now,” said Jim Brett, a childhood friend of Randy Scheffield. “When I talked to them, I didn’t like the answers they had.”
In an apparent greed-driven murder mystery, the wife and step-son of a Newbury Township man have been charged with killing him in 2011.
Also charged is the stepson’s girlfriend, who is the daughter of former Newbury Township Police Chief Santos “Sonny” Battaglia.
Doretta Scheffield, 64, of 340 Plum St., Fairport Harbor, David “Tig” Rowles, 34, and Gina Battaglia, 31, both of 14909 Ravenna Road, Newbury, were charged March 25 in identical four-count indictments involving the murder of Randy Scheffield, 53.
All three have been charged with one count of complicity to commit aggravated murder, one count of complicity to commit murder, one count each of complicity to commit tampering with evidence and complicity to commit theft.
They were subsequently arrested Thursday at separate locations without incident, said Geauga County Sheriff Dan McClelland at a 1 p.m. press conference Friday. All three are currently being held at the Geauga County Safety Center.
Their arrests came as no surprise to Randy’s childhood friend, Jim Brett, who attended the press conference along with Mark Carney and Frank Brett.
All three attended Chagrin Falls high school with Randy in the mid-1970s. Jim said he initially was told Randy had died of a stroke.
“The first three people I suspected are the three that are under arrest now,” he said. “When I talked to them, I didn’t like the answers they had.”
Jim said Randy was the last person he would have expected to be murdered.
“He was just a good guy,” he said. “He didn’t have an enemy. That was another reason why I thought it was somebody close in the family.”
Geauga County Prosecutor Jim Flaiz said Friday all three face a maximum penalty of life in prison without parole if convicted of the murder charges.
“All three defendants were involved in the planning, carrying out and covering up of Randy Scheffield’s murder,” Flaiz said at the press conference. “There is a financial motive in this case.”
Randy owned Scheffield Lawns, a Newbury landscaping business at 1462 Ravenna Rd., where Doretta worked as a bookkeeper and where Rowles worked as well.
Battaglia is Rowles’ girlfriend and mother of their five-year-old son.
When asked his thoughts on a financial motive being behind his friend’s murder, Jim said he wouldn’t be surprised.
He also said he wouldn’t be shocked if there were others involved in the murder.
Asked why he felt that way, Jim said, “Just how everybody carried themselves.”
Both Jim and Carney said they did not observe anything unusual with Randy’s relationships in the years and months leading up to his murder.
“No,” said Carney. “He’s a nice guy. The best guy you’d want to know.”
Carney did say Randy apparently had a “terrible tax problem” that Randy didn’t know about.
Frank said Randy’s mother used to be the bookkeeper of his landscaping business, but at some point prior to his death, Doretta had taken over.
On Dec.27, 2011 at 9:45 p.m., the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office responded to 14362 Ravenna Road in Newbury Township for a report of an unconscious male who suffered a heart attack, McClelland said during his recap of the incident at the press conference.
According to the sheriff’s report of the incident, Randy, who reportedly weighed more than 300 pounds and had a history of diabetes, had been sleeping for an unusually long period of time, so his wife went to check on him and found him not breathing.
“The victim … was transported to the University Hospitals Geauga via Community Care Ambulance where he was subsequently pronounced deceased at 10:13 p.m,” McClelland said. “At the hospital, an X-ray was performed. The hospital examination revealed a small caliber gunshot wound in the back of Randy Scheffield’s head.”
The sheriff’s report said no weapons were found on the scene at the time of the incident.
Deputies at that time were told Randy was last seen alive at his residence during the morning hours of Dec. 27, 2011 by his wife. Doretta said Randy was watching television, the sheriff said.
“She further stated that at approximately 9:45 p.m., she went back in the residence to make dinner and found Randy still in bed, unresponsive, bleeding from the ear,” McClelland said Friday. “Detectives from the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office have worked diligently on the case for over three years.
“Numerous interviews, search warrants and other activities were performed. The investigation pointed to the involvement of three persons. Throughout the investigation, detectives worked closely with the staff of the Geauga County Prosecutor’s Office.”
Deputy Chief Scott Hildenbrand read a statement from the Scheffield family:
“The Scheffield family would like to thank the entire Geauga County Sheriff’s Office and prosecutor’s offices for their hard work and tireless persistence over the last three and a half years in apprehending those responsible for our son and brother Randy Scheffield’s senseless death.
“It is hard to put into words the tremendous loss, pain and suffering our family has endured,” the family said. “We pray that justice will be done and we finally have the answers that we so desperately need.”
The three were arraigned Friday afternoon in front of Geauga County Common Pleas Court Judge Forrest Burt, who set bond for Doretta and her son at $250,000 cash or surety. He set Battaglia’s bond at $100,000 cash or surety and ordered that she wear an electric monitoring device in the event bond was posted and she went to live with her father.
All three were quiet and short in their responses to Burt and Rowles appeared distraught.
Doretta’s and Battaglia’s cases were assigned to Judge David Fuhry for future proceedings while Rowles’ was assigned to Burt.
Doretta was convicted of workers compensation fraud, a fourth-degree felony in 2013. Burt, who presided over the case, sentenced her to one-year of community control and fined her $500.
Flaiz said while Randy was murdered more than three years ago, it was not considered a “cold case.”
“The prosecutor’s office has been working tirelessly with the detectives from the sheriff’s office to bring this case before the grand jury,” Flaiz said. “We were very happy that we were able to do that and obtain an indictment against these defendants.”
He also thanked Scheffield’s family and the community for being patient.
“Our job is to seek justice and sometimes that can take time,” he said.
