Franciscan University murders

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The so called Franciscan University murders were an infamous criminal case involving murder, kidnapping, and robbery. The occurrence began in Steubenville, Ohio at the home of three Franciscan University college students on memorial day, May 31, 1999 and ended on a remote hillside off U.S. Route 22 in Washington County, Pennsylvania.

The crimes were committed by 18-year-old Terrell Yarbrough and 19-year-old Nathan "Boo" Herring. Yarbrough and Herring entered the victims' home, kidnapped two of the three roommates there, then forced the two roommates into one of the victim's vehicles at gunpoint. The killers then drove the roommates from their home in Steubenville, Ohio to a remote hillside overlooking a highway in Washington County, Pennsylvania where they killed them both,with a single gunshot wound to the head of each.

Following a trial, both men were found guilty of murder. Nathan Herring was sentenced to life in prison, and Terrell Yarbrough was sentenced to death. In a controversial twist of fate however, both men's murder sentences were overturned as the killings of the roommates occurred in Pennsylvania and they had been sentenced in the state of Ohio.

[edit] The robbery, kidnapping and murders

Aaron Land, 20, Brian Muha, age 18, and Andrew Doran were college students living in a street-level apartment in Steubenville, Ohio. On May 30, 1999, Muha parked his mother's Chevrolet Blazer outside their apartment. During the early morning hours of May 31, 1999, Land and Doran were asleep in their bedrooms, and Muha was asleep on the living room couch.

At approximately 5:00 a.m. on May 31, 1999, Yarbrough and Herring broke into the apartment and woke up Land and Muha by repeatedly hitting them with a pistol. Yarbrough and Herring then demanded the keys to the Blazer, and Muha gave them the keys.

Doran was awakened by the noise of "a loud series of crashes," and crawled out a window and re-entered the house by a side door and called to Aaron and Brian. There was no response. Doran then saw a black male with a white handkerchief over his mouth and a hood pulled over his head. The man saw Doran; however he ran and managed to escape to a nearby residence and called the police.

Yarbrough and Herring forced Land and Muha out of the house and into the back seat of the Blazer and drove toward Pittsburgh. In Washington County, Pennsylvania (near Pittsburgh), Yarbrough and Herring stopped the Blazer on the highway berm. Herring forced the victims out of the car and into a forested area and separately shot them in the head with a .44-caliber handgun, killing each of them instantly.

Yarbrough and Herring then took Muha’s ATM card, some cash, walked back to the Blazer, and drove to Pittsburgh.

After unsuccessfully attempting to withdraw cash using Muha's ATM card in Pittsburgh, Yarbrough and Herring went to the Squirrel Hill section of Pittsburgh to steal a second car. Barbara Vey became Yarbrough and Herring's next victim, as they attacked her in the stairwell of her apartment complex and demanded the keys to her car. Apparently Herring was going to shoot and kill Vey; however, Yarbrough intervened, sparing her life. Vey gave her keys to the men and called the police after they left.

Later that afternoon, Yarbrough drove the Blazer back to Steubenville, and Herring in Vey's stolen BMW. En route, Yarbrough ran out of gas and Herring did not stop to assist him. Brian Porter, a passing motorist, stopped and gave Yarbrough a ride to a nearby gas station.

After returning to Steubenville, Yarbrough met with a friend, Brandon Young, and they drove around together in the Blazer. After Young inquired where the Blazer was from Yarbrough admitted to him that he had killed Muha and Land and stolen the car. Police spotted the Blazer at around 6 pm that evening. Yarbrough and Young both abandoned the car, but Yarbrough was captured after a short chase. A short time later, at 8 pm, police also recovered Vey's stolen BMW.

On June 2, police also apprehended Young, who had eluded capture earlier, and Yarbrough's accomplice Herring without incident. After questioning the suspects, police eventually learned exactly what occurred on the morning of May 31st.