FULTON COUNTY, OH (WTOL) - Before deliberation began in the murder trial of James Worley, the jury heard a detail which caught many off guard in the courtroom.
In an attempt to spare Worley's life, in his closing remarks, Worley's attorney argued that Worley did not act alone in the murder of Sierah Joughin.
"What haunts me is that I think there was an accomplice," said Defense Attorney, Mark Berling,
It was a statement, a theory mentioned before the jury began discussing Worley's sentence.
Defense attorneys suggested that Worley would have needed help digging the hole in a cornfield where Sierah's body was found. The unknown DNA found under Sierah's fingernails that was never identified was also questioned.
"You can not dig a hole that deep through clay within a three-hour period and then there was DNA of another individual under her finger tips. I'm not saying he didn't do it, I'm not saying that at all," said Berling to the courtroom.
The jury was warned that anything in closing arguments is not admissible as evidence or to be used during deliberation.
But without any member of law enforcement suggesting this in trial, it appeared it did not influence the jury's decision to sentence Worley to death.
Worley will be back at the Fulton County Courthouse in two weeks to be sentenced by the judge.
WTOL 11 reached out to the Correction Center of Northwest Ohio where Worley is locked up to see if he would be interested in speaking out. However due to security issues, he was not eligible for an interview as of Thursday.
