By C1 Staff
GEORGETOWN, Ohio — Brown County Coroner Judith A. Varnau and the county’s sheriff’s office are at odds over the 2013 death of inmate Zachary Goldson.
WCPO reports that the Brown County Adult Detention Center ruled Goldson’s death a suicide after he was found hanging by a bed sheet from a sprinkler in his cell. But Varnau ruled the death a homicide after she determined that it was “physically impossible” for Goldson to have reached the sprinkler on his own.
The events of Oct. 5, 2013 started with an inmate transport to a nearby hospital where Goldson was to receive an endoscopy after he swallowed a pen, toothbrush and some staples hours earlier.
Goldson allegedly attacked Deputy Travis Justice as Justice was unlocking his vehicle as they left the hospital. Justice said Goldson attacked him from behind and attempted to grab his firearm.
Three officers responded to the scene to help subdue Goldson and returned to the jail. Dash cam footage recorded the incident, and officers can be heard swearing at Goldson and one making a remark: “That motherf***er’s getting a welcoming party when he gets to the jail.”
Goldson was returned to the Brown County Adult Detention Center and placed back in his cell. Correction Officer Zane Schadle and Deputy George Dunning escorted Goldson back to his cell and were with him in the cell for 96 seconds, according to video surveillance.
They told state investigators that they removed Goldson’s handcuffs, took his shoes and blanket but “did not notice” that his bed sheet was left behind when they left the cell.
Twenty-three minutes and 42 seconds later, according to video surveillance, they returned to check on Goldson, only to find him hanging. Other jail employees are seen in the video running through the hallway for help.
Schadle and Dunning rushed into the cell to cut Goldson down, but the inmate was pronounced dead at 3:11 a.m.
Varnau ruled the death a homicide less than two months later, claiming in an email that Goldson “could not have hanged himself, but had to have help in making it look like he did.”
All officers involved in the events with Goldson denied any wrongdoing.
The officer who drove Goldson back to the facility, Deputy Ryan Wedmore, said Goldson kept repeating, “I f***ed up.” Wedmore said he believed Goldson was in the right frame of mind to take his own life.
Varnau claimed that Goldson was 6 feet 2 inches tall (Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s report lists Goldson as 6-foot-1), and that the sprinkler was 9-and-a-half feet above the floor of his cell. After measuring every surface and object in his cell, she concluded that he could not have reached the sprinkler on his own.
Varnau had a 6-foot-7 officer consulting with her attempt to reach the sprinkler by standing on the sink, but said he could only do so with one hand. She said that he had to use his left hand to hold on a light fixture and could not have used two hands to tie a knot without falling.
Lead investigator Dave Hornyak of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation said Goldson could “easily” reach the sprinkler head.
“[A] 6-foot-1 investigator stepped onto the cell sink and was able to reach the entirety of the sprinkler assembly without effort,” Hornyak said. “By bracing one hand on the cell ceiling, the investigator was easily able to retain stability and reach well past the sprinkler assembly with the opposite hand.”
He and Varnau also disagreed on whether the sprinkler could hold more than 40 pounds.
Goldson was facing several burglary and theft charges, along with a first-degree assault charge and escape charge after the alleged assault on Oct. 5, all of which would keep him behind bars until 2022. He wrote a letter to his ex-girlfriend just days before his death, saying he was depressed and hated the detention center.
Interviews with Goldson’s ex-girlfriend and his sister stated that Goldson intended to harm himself and said “many times” that he wanted police to shoot him. They believe Goldson attempted to take the deputy’s gun at the hospital because he wanted to die.
A grand jury cleared the deputies of any wrongdoing in the case on Dec. 11, 2014. Six days before their decision, members of the Brown County Sheriff’s Office filed a lawsuit against Varnau, her husband and county commissioners, claiming “years of repeated and continuous lies and defamatory remarks” harmed their reputations.
The lawsuit claimed that Brown County residents now refer to the five sheriff’s employees named by the coroner in Goldson’s hanging as “The Death Squad.”
The lawsuit asks for an unspecified amount in punitive and compensatory damages and a court order to change the coroner’s ruling from homicide to suicide.
Despite this, Varnau has stated that her investigation into Goldson’s death isn’t complete. She plans to conduct a coroner’s inquest into the case. She did not give a timeframe for when she expects the inquest to begin, nor did she suggest how many witnesses she expects to call.