State of Ohio v. Austin Gregory Myers, Case No. 2014-1862
Warren County Common Pleas Court

The Ohio Supreme Court is considering an automatic appeal from Austin G. Myers, who received the death penalty for the 2014 murder of a Waynesville man.

Justin Back lived in Waynesville with his mother and stepfather. On Jan. 27, 2014, Back's stepfather arrived home from work. Back was home, and he introduced his stepfather to Myers and Timothy Mosley, who were visiting. Back and Myers knew each other from high school.

The next day, Jan. 28, when Back's stepfather arrived home from work, he found items misplaced in the house, the kitchen rugs were gone, and Back's cell phone was on the floor. Back's stepfather and mother discovered that a watch, jewelry box, pistol, and safe were missing, and they called police. Neighbors said they saw the visitors' car from the day before at the house that day.

Officers later located Myers, Mosley, and Logan Zennie in Clayton, about an hour from Waynesville, and found the missing safe in Zennie's bedroom. Detectives from the Warren County Sheriff's Office arrived in Clayton and spoke with Myers in a police vehicle and later at the local police station. Myers was taken back to Mosley's house. The detectives also spoke to Mosley and Zennie at the police station. After the conversation with Zennie, detectives arrested Myers and Mosley.

Back's body was discovered in West Alexandria in Preble County. He had been choked, stabbed repeatedly in the back, and shot. He was 18 years old.