David M. Brewer

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David M. Brewer, 44, was the ninth person executed by the state of Ohio since it reinstated the death penalty in 1981. Brewer died by lethal injection on April 29, 2003 after spending 17 years and six months on death row. He was convicted of the 1985 rape and murder of Sherry Byrne, the wife of a college fraternity brother.

At about 10:15 on the morning of Thursday, March 21, 1985, Sherry Byrne called her husband Joe and told him that she was going to a local hotel in Sharonville, Ohio, north of Cincinnati, to meet Brewer, and his wife Kathy. Brewer and Joe Byrne and Joe were boyhood acquaintances and college fraternity brothers, and the two couples saw each other socially. According to Sherry's telephone call, Brewer and his wife were at the motel to celebrate Kathy's pregnancy, and to deliver a set of stereo speakers which they had promised Joe.

Sherry and her dog arrived at the motel sometime before noon that morning. Brewer was there alone, having told his wife that he would be in Cincinnati for the day on business. Brewer and Sherry engaged in sexual intercourse that Brewer later testified was consensual, however, the autopsy of Sherry Byrne revealed pelvic bruising consistent with sexual assault. Brewer also gave statements to police that contradicted his trial testimony about that Sherry was a willing participant.

At some point after the sexual assault, Brewer put Sherry in the trunk of his car because he "couldn't handle it" and because he "could not get her to calm down." He maintained throughout that she voluntarily got into the trunk. According to Brewer's statement to police, he then drove to a less populated area north of Cincinnati where he opened the trunk and tried to convince Sherry not to tell her husband or his wife. He bound her feet with speaker wire, closed the trunk again, and drove to another location.

He then drove back toward Sharonville, stopping at a convenience store to release the dog which was later recovered in a nearby community. Brewer returned to the motel and checked out at around 4:30 p.m. He showed up at the store in Dayton that he managed and stayed about 10 minutes. When he came out, he heard Sherry pounding on the lid of the trunk. He continued to drive around with Sherry in the trunk of the car, stopping once for gas and several times to attempt to persuade Sherry to stop pounding on the trunk lid.

Several witnesses saw a hand holding a piece of paper through a gap in the trunk seal with the words "HELP ME PLEASE" written in what appeared to be lipstick. These people called law enforcement authorities and provided police with the car's license plate. Patrol officers searched for the car and called Brewer's home and his employer. Eventually, police visited both places without success.

Brewer later checked in at work and a coworker told him the police were looking for him. He then drove to a remote area near Factory Road, where he stopped between 7:30 and 8:00 p.m.

Appellant returned to his workplace about 8:00 p.m. and called the Beavercreek police. He spoke with the desk sergeant, who told him to come to the station that night and bring his car. He promised to be there in 30 minutes. He stopped a short distance away from his workplace and opened the trunk to tell Sherry he would let her go in a remote area. When he opened the trunk, he claimed that Sherry got out, slapped him and ran. He testified that he caught her and choked her, first with his hands and then with a necktie. Brewer then went back to his car and got a butcher knife. He stabbed Sherry several times, then slashed her throat.

Leaving Sherry's body in a roadside ditch, Brewer drove to the Beavercreek police station. He went into a restroom to wash blood from his shoes and hands. He then spoke with the officers, who asked about the "HELP" sign that had been seen sticking out of his trunk. Brewer said he had picked up a female hitchhiker, and had been riding around with her. He explained the sign as a prank suggested by the hitchhiker, whom he said he could not identify. The Beavercreek police cited Brewer for inducing panic and released him.

Brewer then returned to the area where he had left Sherry's body and placed it back into the trunk of his car. He stopped by work to call his wife, telling her he would be home soon. He then went home and went to bed.

In the meantime, Joe Byrne became concerned when his wife failed to come home. He called Kathy Brewer, who told him she had not seen Sherry that day, was not pregnant, and knew nothing about any stereo speakers. Joe notified the police and filed a missing persons report. Accompanied by a friend, he drove around the Sharonville area that night looking for Sherry or her car. The friend later found Sherry's car where Brewer had left it. The following day, Brewer placed the body in a sleeping bag and a self-storage locker, purchased a padlock, and left Sherry's body.

Brewer was quickly identified as a suspect and during questioning by police admitted to killing Sherry Byrne. He led authorities to Sherry's body in the storage locker.

After his indictment by a grand jury, Brewer waived his right to a jury and elected to be tried by a three-judge panel. He was found guilty on September 19, 1985 and sentenced to death in October 1985. His subsequent appeals at the state and federal levels were unsuccessful, as was his request for executive clemency.

At 10 a.m. on April 29, 2003, Brewer was lead into the execution chamber at the state prison in Lucasville, Ohio. He was declared dead at 10:20 a.m.

[edit] See also

• Capital punishment in the United States
• List of individuals executed in Ohio

[edit] Resources

• "Ohio's Seventh Execution Since 1999; Killer Offers No Final Apology" Columbus Dispatch (Ohio). April 30, 2003
• State v. Brewer, 1996 Ohio App. LEXIS 2517
• State v. Brewer, 1988 Ohio App. LEXIS 3492
• 2005 Capital Crimes Report (pdf) Office of the Ohio Attorney General.