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ST. CLAIRSVILLE – A jury took just three hours Wednesday to decide Joseph Barton murdered Julian Townsend.
After hearing all the evidence in a week-long trial, jurors convicted Barton, 35, of aggravated murder in the death of Townsend. The 69-year-old victim died Oct. 15, 2012, after he was beaten, stabbed and shot. His trailer home on Wegee Road was burned down that same night with his dismembered body still inside.
Barton now faces a maximum sentence of life without parole. He will learn his fate during a sentencing hearing on Dec. 29.
Before the jury began to deliberate, Belmont County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Kevin Flanagan offered his closing summation. He criticized Barton’s actions following the trailer fire, as well as his account of that evening’s events when he took the stand Tuesday in his own defense.
“Look at his actions. Look at the events that surround this and, just as important, look at his memory,” Flanagan said of Barton in the common pleas courtroom. “His convenient recollections when he testified for you yesterday – that’s exactly what they are, convenient recollections – convenient, because he’s able to remember certain facts.”
Flanagan questioned Barton’s credibility and pointed to differences between Barton’s account and the testimony given by other witnesses. He asked the jury to consider whether Barton’s testimony aligned with the events of the case and the evidence.
“His evasiveness, his explanations, in some cases his inability to explain – these, ladies and gentlemen, are the products of a guilty mind,” Flanagan added.
The prosecutor reminded those present that more than enough time elapsed for Townsend’s car to take a circuitous route from the burning trailer to the site where it was found abandoned near Barton’s residence before Barton’s sister called him at 9:40 a.m. to tell him a fire had occurred on Wegee Road.
He also countered defense attorneys’ assertion that investigators focused exclusively on Barton. He said attempts by Townsend’s family to find him the morning of the fire led to Barton, who was the last person known to be with him.
“In the business of investigation you don’t create your leads, you follow your leads,” Flanagan said.
Greg Meyers of the Ohio Public Defender’s Office started his closing statement by reminding jurors that under the law, Barton was considered innocent until proven guilty. He said the jury would do its duty and weigh the evidence.
“This is serious business – simple to say, powerful to feel,” he said. “What happened to Mr. Townsend was horrifying, absolutely horrifying. You can’t base this decision on the horror of it.”
He pointed out that there are different ways to interpret circumstantial evidence. He also raised questions about the quality of the evidence.
Meyers told the jury that a large amount of blood would result from dismembering a person, yet he pointed out no blood was found in Townsend’s car and no bloody clothes were discovered. He said it would have been foolish for Barton to use Townsend’s car to leave the scene and to then abandon it so close to his own residence.
Meyers added that Barton’s injuries which the state said he tried to conceal from law enforcement – were consistent with the woodcutting work he claimed to have been doing for Townsend. He also said Townsend was too elderly and frail to have inflicted those injuries on the stronger Barton.
Meyers said some questions remained unanswered at the end of the trial.
“What’s the motive?” he asked. “What would dare motivate him? He lives right down the road.”
Townsend’s daughter, Misty Whitlatch, said the guilty verdict will help her and the Townsend family continue to heal and put the matter in the past. She noted they have done their best to bring forth the truth.
“I feel that there is closure, and I’m going to make it my goal to put it behind me,” she said, adding that she takes some solace in the fact that Townsend likely did not suffer before his death. “I think it was a fair decision.”
Whitlatch added she hopes Barton receives the maximum sentence of life without parole.