Ohio court upholds conviction of man accused in wife’s death

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio Supreme Court upheld a murder conviction of a man accused in the killing of his ex-wife and leaving her body in the trunk of a running car in 2014.

The court found in a 6-to-1 ruling Thursday that the evidence against Ronald Boaston remains overwhelming, The Toledo Blade reported.

The former Toledo resident is serving 15 years to life in prison after he was found guilty of strangling Brandi Gonyer-Boaston, 28, in February 2014 near Delta, Ohio.

The ruling determined that the court erred by admitting testimony from Dr. Diane Scala-Barnett, then Lucas County deputy coroner, without first providing a written report to the defense of the scientific basis for her findings. But ultimately came to the conclusion that the error was harmless and does not affect the outcome of the trial.

Scala-Barnett had testified as to the contents of the victim’s stomach, which helped her determine time of death. The former county coroner also matched a bruise on the victim’s chin with a buckle on Boaston’s glove.

“The significance of the time-of-death opinion based on the stomach-content findings is important because it puts Brandi’s time of death during a period when Boaston admitted to having been alone with Brandi at his residence,” Justice Michael Donnelly wrote.

Boaston’s attorney, Stephen Hanudel, could not be immediately reached for comment.