CINCINNATI (WKRC) – The conviction and life sentence of a man found guilty of killing his mother in her Cincinnati apartment in 2019 have been reinstated after the state’s high court ruled that evidence that should have been excluded did not affect the verdict.
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court of Ohio reversed a ruling by the First District Court of Appeals, which had vacated Elijah Blaine Roberts’ convictions and ordered a new trial. The justices found that any errors the trial court made in admitting statements and evidence were harmless.
“Based on our review of the record after excising the evidence that the appellate court found was prejudicial and erroneously admitted by the trial court, we concluded that the remaining evidence overwhelmingly proves Roberts’ guilt of aggravated murder and aggravated robbery beyond a reasonable doubt,” said Chief Justice Sharon L. Kennedy.
The Court noted that prosecutors relied primarily on circumstantial evidence because Roberts did not confess and there were no eyewitnesses…