How Could You? Hall of Shame-Jeffrey and Margaret Schobert case-Deaths UPDATED

This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.

From Akron, Ohio, Adoptive parents Jeffrey and Margaret Schobert were beaten to death with sledgehammers on April 1, 2013 by then-boyfriend , Shawn Ford , of  Chelsea Schobert.

“Chelsea Schobert said her parents initially treated her then-boyfriend Shawn Ford like one of their own children.

They bought him clothes, took him to dinner and helped him find a job. The Schoberts, however, eventually put a GPS tracking device on her car because they grew suspicious of both her and Ford.

Now Ford, 20, is on trial for attacking and stabbing Chelsea Schobert and could face the death penalty if convicted of bludgeoning Jeffrey Schobert and his wife Margaret to death with a sledgehammer in April 2013.

Chelsea Schobert, 19, testified wearing blue and orange prison attire during the first day of testimony in Ford’s trial in front of Summit County Common Pleas Judge Tom Parker. She is currently serving a 30-month sentence for drug trafficking and was shackled throughout the two hours she testified.

Chelsea Schobert said her parents adopted her when she was three days old and that she lived a comfortable life.

She said she met Ford on Facebook in August 2012 and the two eventually started dating. She introduced Ford to her parents, who treated him like a son.

“They’re very loving people,” Chelsea Schobert said.

Chelsea Schobert said she often lied about where she was going with Ford and stayed out later than her curfew. Her parents soon began to object to Chelsea Schobert’s and Ford’s relationship and put the tracking device on her car.

Despite knowing she would be caught for lying about spending the night with a girlfriend from school, Chelsea Schobert said she picked up Ford and two others the Friday after her 18th birthday.

She said that on March 23, 2013 they bought alcohol—including Four Loco, Mike’s Hard Lemonade and Blast malt liquor drink — and got drunk at a friend’s house.

Chelsea Schobert said she got too drunk and went to lie down in the bedroom. She said Ford followed and she declined to have sex with him. Chelsea Schobert said Ford then punched her in both eyes and stabbed her in the neck.

Chelsea Schobert said she suffered nerve damage that required spinal fusion surgery. Her left arm is permanently numb and she can’t feel certain sensations on the right side of her body.

She spent more than a month in the hospital recovering, she said. She had to re-learn how to walk and write.

Chelsea Schobert said she initially lied to police investigators about the attack, and police then arrested someone else. She testified that she later told police the truth— that Ford attacked her.

Prosecutors say while Chelsea Schobert was still in the hospital, Ford and Jamal Vaughn, then 14, beat her father, 56, to death with a sledgehammer at their home on April 1. They waited for her mother, 59, to return home, and killed her with the sledgehammer.

Chelsea Schobert said after their death, her life spiraled out of control. She said she used inheritance money to buy cocaine to sell with her new boyfriend. She was eventually convicted of the crime and sentenced to 30 months in prison.

“I started dating a certain person, who was bad,” Chelsea Schobert said. “And I changed my entire way of living.” ”

Daughter of slain New Franklin couple says parents initially liked man suspected of murdering them [Cleveland.com 10/09/14 by Adam Ferrise]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

 

Update: “A jury recommended that the man accused killing his girlfriend’s parents with a sledgehammer should face the death penalty.

The jury on Friday recommended that Shawn Ford, 20, face execution in the murder of Margaret Schobert, and life in prison for the death of her husband Jeffrey Schobert.

Summit County Judge Tom Parker now must decide whether to accept or reject the jury’s recommendation. Parker will schedule a hearing that will occur within the next two weeks. He did not set a specific date.

The judge will also hold a hearing to determine whether Ford is eligible for the death penalty due to a low IQ which was placed between 62 and 80, according to mental evaluations introduced as evidence during the trial. That hearing will be held sometime before the sentencing hearing.

Several jurors wept during as their decision was read. They declined comment while quickly leaving the courthouse on Friday.

Ford’s family also left without commenting. Schobert family members declined comment, citing a gag order by Parker.

Parker warned Ford before the jury entered the courtroom to remain stoic during their verdict. Parker said Ford told sheriff’s deputies that he planned to “some kind of demonstration” if the jury returned a death recommendation.

Ford told Parker he was “being sarcastic” when he made the comments.

“This is not a time for sarcasm,” Parker responded. Ford made no demonstration and sat with his head down during the hearing.

The jurors heard three days of tearful, often dramatic testimony in the death-penalty phase of the case. Defense attorneys portrayed Ford as a broken young man with an abusive and traumatizing upbringing.

Prosecutors characterized Ford as a sociopathic manipulator who bashed Jeffrey Schobert to death then lured Margaret Schobert to her death by sending her text messages from her dead husband’s phone.

A fight between Ford and their daughter Chelsea Schobert set off a chain of events that culminated in the couple’s murder, prosecutor’s said.

Ford attacked Chelsea Schobert, his girlfriend at the time, on March 23, 2013 after she declined to have sex with him during a birthday celebration.

The attack left Chelsea Schobert hospitalized at Akron Children’s Hospital for a month. The Schoberts talked and sometimes argued with their daughter about them barring Ford from seeing their daughter, prosecutors said.

Jeffrey Schobert, 56, went home from the hospital April 1, 2013. Ford and a then-14-year-old boy, Jamal Vaughn, climbed through a bedroom window to the Schobert’s home, grabbed a sledgehammer from the garage and beat Jeffrey Schobert with it 14 times, killing him, according to prosecutors.

Ford and Vaughn, who is being tried as an adult in a separate trial, played video games and drank soft drinks while they waited for Margaret Schobert to return home, according to prosecutors. Ford then sent text messages to Margaret Schobert from Jeffrey Schobert’s phone, asking her when she was coming home.

Margaret Schobert came home about 6 a.m. on April 2 and Ford and Vaughn struck her 19 times with a sledgehammer, prosecutors said.”

Jury recommends death for Shawn Ford for New Franklin sledgehammer slayings[Cleveland.com 10/31/14 by Adam Ferrise]

“The man condemned to death for the sledgehammer slayings of a prominent New Franklin couple apologized to the victims’ family during his sentencing hearing Monday.

But Shawn Ford’s apology fell on the deaf ears of Chelsea Schobert, Ford’s ex-girlfriend and the lone surviving victim of the string of events that ended in the deaths of her parents Jeffrey and Margaret Schobert.

“There’s a lot I’d like to say to you but can’t because it would be inappropriate in court,” Chelsea Schobert said. “You can never be sorry for killing someone in cold blood.”

Ford, 20, was sentenced to death for Margaret Schobert’s April 2013 murder. Summit County Judge Tom Parker added additional sentences of life in prison without parole for Jeffrey Schobert’s murder and an eight-year prison sentence for attacking their daughter, Chelsea Schobert, a week before the killings.

More than 40 friends, family members and co-workers of Jeffrey Schobert spoke during a three-hour sentencing hearing on Monday. Everyone who spoke during the hearing described the elder Schoberts as loving, generous and family-oriented.

Jessica Schobert wanted to be like her father, a caring family member and highly respected attorney. She competed on the debate team in high school that Jeffrey Schobert coached and went to law school to be like her father.

“I realized I wanted nothing more than to work side-by-side within the legal profession with him,” Jessica Schobert said on Monday. “Because of what happened, I was forced to give up the legal profession. I’m not sure when or if I’ll be able to return to school.”

The couple donated significant time and money to anyone they felt they could help, family members said. A school in Africa where they donated money named a dorm in their honor after their deaths.

Attorney Michael Ockerman, who worked at the law firm where Schobert was a partner, spoke of their generosity.

“They gave, gave and gave and didn’t ask for anything in return,” he said. “He was our rock, our leader and a role model for all of us.”

Ford mostly sat at the edge of his seat with his elbows on his knees and head down. He grimaced several times and wiped his eyes with a tissue. He apologized three times to the Schobert family during his four-minute statement before he was sentenced to die.

“I was a young kid in love and was blinded by love,” Ford said. “I never wanted to hurt that girl. I never wanted to hurt the Schobert family. I was being selfish. I was being stubborn. I always felt things had to be my way.”

Ford said he hoped the Schoberts would forgive him.

“These were good people,” he said. “They opened their homes for me. They bought me things. They looked out for me.”

Ford also apologized to his cousin, Jamal Vaughn, for getting him involved. Vaughn, 15, pleaded guilty to being complicit to the murders and faces sentencing on Tuesday.

“I basically ruined his life,” Ford said.”

Shawn Ford apologizes to family for sledgehammer slayings[Cleveland.com 6/29/15 by Adam Ferrise]

Update 2: “Chelsea Schobert, who spent 10 months in prison for using inheritance money from her parents’ murder to buy and sell heroin, is now accused of lying to police about how her car became involved in a high-speed chase.

Schobert, 20, is charged with making false alarms, a first-degree misdemeanor. She is not in police custody but a warrant was issued Tuesday for her arrest.

The chase began about 11:20 p.m. on Monday when Cuyahoga Falls police tried to stop Schobert’s car along State Road near Valley Road.

The driver made a U-turn and turned onto Byrd Avenue. An officer noted that the car pulled back on to State Road. The officer reported he couldn’t read the temporary license plate and tried to stop the car, a 2005 Chrysler 300 registered to Schobert.

The car’s driver started pulling over to the side of the road, then sped up south on State Road. The officer reported that he sped up to follow the car but noticed the chase had quickly reached speeds of more than 80 miles per hour.

The officer stopped chasing the car near Broad Boulevard. The Chrysler was already so far ahead that the officer could only see the car’s taillights, according to police reports.

About 11:30 p.m., Akron police found the car had flown off the road and ended up on the side of the road on North Main and North Howard streets, some three miles from where the incident began.

Witnesses told Akron police two people ran from the car, but were unable to give a detailed description of the duo.

Schobert called Akron police about 12:45 a.m. and reported that her car had been stolen at the intersection of Edgewood Avenue and South Maple Street. She said that she and a 17-year-old friend got out of the car because they were arguing.

They both told police that someone jumped into the car and drove off.

Akron police investigated Schobert’s claims and found them to be “not possible,” according to court records.

The most recent incident marks the second time she’s been charged with a crime since April 28 when a judge granted her judicial release from prison after serving 10 months of a 30-month conviction for drug trafficking.

Akron police stopped three teenagers driving Schobert’s SUV July 27 on Edgewood and Euclid avenues. The driver jumped in the backseat and officers were unable to figure out who was driving.

Schobert showed up at the traffic stop and told police that she allowed the three teens — ages 16 and 17 — to use her car despite knowing none had driver’s licenses.

The officer told Schobert to wait while he wrote her a citation. She left while the officer was walking back to his cruiser, according to court records. She was later cited for obstructing justice and wrongful entrustment.

She testified during the death-penalty murder trial of her ex-boyfriend Shawn Ford that she used money she inherited following the death of her parents — Margaret and Jeffrey Schobert – to start her drug-dealing enterprise.

Ford was convicted of beating the New Franklin Township couple to death with a sledgehammer. He was sentenced to death.”

Daughter of slain New Franklin couple accused of lying about high-speed Cuyahoga Falls police chase[Cleveland.com 8/5/15 by Adam Ferrise]