Justice for Marsha Blakely and The Ohio Four

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Who are the Ohio Four?

Alfred Cleveland, Benson Davis, John Edwards, and Lenworth Edwards were all convicted for the 1991 killing of Marsha Blakely, and were suspects in the killing of her roommate, Floyd Epps. They have come to be known, by supporters who believe in their innocence, as The Ohio Four. Today, John Alfred Cleveland and Lenworth Edwards have been paroled, but still face challenges due to the murder conviction, which follows them to this day. John Edwards and Benson Davis are still incarcerated. All four men have credible alibi’s, and the state’s only evidence, a purported eyewitness, has recanted his testimony numerous times. Moreover, all four men have claimed their innocence throughout the investigation, trial, and subsequent appeals. Together, they have served over a century in prison

The Crime and Investigation

On August 8, 1991, at 1:25 AM, officers were dispatched to 1626 Wallace Lane in Lorain, Ohio, due to reports of a body in the roadway. On scene, officers found the body of Floyd Epps. Later that morning, at 9:18 AM, only a quarter mile from the first crime scene, officers discovered the body of Marsha Blakely. Both bodies had similar injuries, including a thirteen-centimeter gash on the left side of the neck and a visual impression of tire tracks on their skin.

After a brief investigation, officers learned that Ms. Blakely and Mr. Epps lived together; however, they found no relevant evidence after searching their residence. Despite officers conducting numerous interviews with potential witnesses and several news stories regarding the case, they could not uncover any promising leads. On September 5, 1991, the Lorain County Prosecutor’s office put forth a $2,000 reward for information about the murders. Five days later, William Avery Sr.—a long-time police informant—came forward, claiming to have information about the murders.

After the initial conversation with Avery Sr., officers learned that he did not have first-hand knowledge of the events surrounding the murders, and they urged him to come forward with the source of his information. The next day, September 11, 1991, Avery Sr. returned with his son, William Avery Jr.

William Avery Jr.’s Story

Avery Jr. made several claims to police in his initial statement. Avery Jr. stated that Cleveland, Davis, J. Edwards, and L. Edwards were all drug dealers from New York City. Avery Jr, told police that he owed Cleveland money for drugs and offered to go with the four to “mess somebody up” in the projects on Sunset Boulevard in Lorain, Ohio to pay the debt. However, Avery Jr. said he had a change of heart when they arrived at the apartment because he knew Blakely and had grown up with her.

According to him, when Avery Jr. refused to participate, the others went ahead with beating Blakely while she fought back. Blakely hit L. Edwards in the nose during the fight, causing his nose to bleed onto his jacket. Despite her efforts, the men overpowered her and knocked her unconscious, then they carried her out of the apartment, and Avery Jr. never saw Blakely again. The attack allegedly left the apartment in disarray. Avery Jr. described items thrown all over,  that Blakey’s bed was on its side, and that a table and chairs were turned over.

Avery Jr. said that the reason they were there was because Blakely had come into possession of some of J. Edwards’s drugs and cash. The men had borrowed a grey car from Delphina Guice to get to Blakely’s house. After the struggle, Avery and two of the men went in one car, and J. Edwards, L. Edwards, and Davis took Blakely to the gray car and drove off. Avery Jr. denied seeing anyone with a knife the night of the attack; however, two days later one of the men present during the attack told him that Davis stabbed Blakely.

William Avery Jr.’s Testimony

In December of 1991, at L. Edwards’s first trial, Avery Jr. demanded the prosecution pay him an additional $10,000 in exchange for his testimony, but when the prosecution refused to pay the extra fee, he refused to testify. The court held Avery Jr. in contempt and sentenced him to ten days in jail. After his release, Avery Jr. returned to court and stated, “I only done it for the money, and everything was not true.” After his recantation, the trial judge declared a mistrial in L. Edwards’s case and charged Avery Jr. with perjury.

In January 1992, while incarcerated for perjury, Avery Jr. contacted police to inform them that he had more information regarding the investigation into Blakely’s murder and on January 23,1992, he was interviewed by police for the second time. During this subsequent interview, Avery Jr. changed his story, claiming that he did not leave the scene after the assault, but instead went with the four men behind a nearby shopping plaza where another male named “Justice” stabbed Blakely with a shiny object. Avery Jr. said his previous recantation was due to threats from L. Edwards while incarcerated for contempt.

All four men were eventually convicted for the murder of Marsha Blakley based on Avery Jr.’s testimony, and L. Edwards jacket that had his blood on it. However, the blood on the jacket was later tested and determined to be L. Edwards, not Blakely’s. Immediately following the verdict, Avery Jr. was hired as an informant by the Lorain Police Department and the United States Secret Service. However, in December of 1996, Special Agent Robert Wyche of the Secret Service sent a letter to Prosecutor Johnathan Rosenbaum explaining that Avery Jr. provided false testimony regarding a Secret Service investigation, a fact that was verified by a polygraph examination before Avery Jr. ultimately admitted to fabricating evidence.

Cleveland and his family hired a private investigator, Martin Yant, who searched for Avery Jr. from 1998 to 2006. Yant briefly contacted Avery Jr. in 1998, but he fled when Yant attempted to meet with him to discuss the case. Another investigator, hired by students from the Innocence Project at Northwestern University, attempted to find Avery Jr. for two years, but neither investigator was ever able to locate him after the failed attempt to meet with Avery Jr. in 1998

Unbeknownst to Cleveland, Avery Jr. surfaced on November 24, 2004, when he voluntarily appeared at an FBI office in Detroit, Michigan. There, he spoke with FBI Agent William Beachum and told him that he had lied during all four trials for Marsha Blakely’s murder. He further explained that he lied because his father had actually committed the murders and wanted to not only collect the reward money but cover his guilt.

In 2006, after learning that Avery Jr. was in Detroit, Leon Cleveland, Alfred’s father, spent weeks attempting to find him. Eventually, Leon located Avery Jr.’s mother and told her that he wanted to speak with him. Avery Jr. called Leon a few days later and agreed to speak with Cleveland’s attorney, Bruce Ellison, and private investigator, Paul Ciolino. Ellison and Avery Jr. had an initial telephone conversation, during which Avery Jr. admitted that he had lied at Cleveland’s trial. On February 9, 2006, Avery met with Ellison and Ciolino in person. During the meeting, Avery Jr. signed an affidavit recanting his entire testimony and describing the reasons for his false testimony. Avery Jr. described repeated threats from his father, who wanted the reward money. Avery Jr. also claimed that he told Prosecutor Rosenbaum during L. Edwards’s trial that he was lying. According to Avery Jr., Prosecutor Rosenbaum threatened him, saying, “If these dudes don’t go down for this, [Avery Jr.] would.”

Cleveland’s Appellate History

On July 6, 2006, Cleveland filed a petition or Post-Conviction Relief, a motion for leave to file a motion for a new trial, and a motion alleging that an Ohio Post-Conviction Relief statute—now repealed—was unconstitutional. The Court of Common Pleas for the County of Lorain Ohio held that all of Cleveland’s claims were untimely except those resulting from Avery Jr.’s recantation.

On January 31, 2008, there was an evidentiary hearing, and Avery Jr. appeared and stated his desire to recant his trial testimony. The court informed him that there were legal consequences to recanting, primarily the possibility of prosecution for perjury, and appointed Avery Jr. an attorney. Despite this, Avery Jr. returned to the courtroom and repeated his desire to recant.

The court then read Avery Jr. his Miranda rights, allowed him time to consult with his attorney again, and advised him that he could receive 20 to 30 years in prison for perjury. Avery Jr.’s counsel asked both the court and the prosecution for immunity, but both requests were denied. Eventually, Avery Jr. took the stand and invoked his Fifth Amendment right; however, after the trial, Avery Jr. told a reporter, “Dude’s innocent … but I don’t feel I have to go to jail for 30 years.”

As a result, the court denied Cleveland’s post-conviction motion. Cleveland appealed to the Ohio Court of Appeals, which affirmed the trial court’s denial of post-trial relief. He then appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court, which declined discretionary review because there was no substantial constitutional question.

After failing in state courts, Cleveland filed a habeas petition in January 2010. Both the magistrate and the district court dismissed Cleveland’s claims as untimely. The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit granted Cleveland a Certificate of Appealability to determine if his claims were entitled to statutory tolling.

The Sixth Circuit held that Cleveland’s claims presented a credible claim of actual innocence that required tolling of the one-year limitations period and a review of his habeas petition on the merits. The court reasoned that because of the new evidence—including Avery’s recantation (multiple times), the lack of other evidence linked Cleveland to the crime, and several alibi witnesses who saw Cleveland in New York—“surely cannot be said that a juror conscientiously following the judge’s instructions requiring proof beyond a reasonable doubt, would vote to convict.”

Even after the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that Cleveland presented a credible claim of actual innocence, the courts have repeatedly upheld the convictions of The Ohio Four to date.

More Issues for The Ohio Four

Today, The Ohio Innocence Project and the Perlmutter Center for Legal Justice are continuing to fight for the freedom of the Ohio Four. In 2024, Josh Dubin, executive director for the Perlmutter Center,  messaged former head Lorain County Prosecutor J.D. Tomlinson; however, Tomlinson admitted in a recent interview with Dubin and Joe Rogan that he was unable to even contemplate the case due to his own legal struggles.

During the election for prosecutor for Lorain County, Tomlinson, the incumbent, was indicted on charges of intimidation, tampering with evidence, and bribery. Tomlinson said the allegations stem from a sexual relationship he had with a former employee, Jennifer Bastinelli. Bastinelli filed a sexual harassment complaint against Tomlinson with the EEOC alleging that Tomlinson attempted to get her to retract the complaint. Video tapes acquired by police showed arguments between the two. Tomlinson admitted the relationship was a mistake but denied any further impropriety, claiming that the charges against him were a political ploy by his opponents to win the election.

Ultimately, Tony Cillo, Tomlinson’s opponent, beat out Tomlinson by over 14%. Coincidentally, only ten days later, all of the felony charges against Tomlinson were dismissed after Bastinelli failed to appear for trial on two separate occasions. Tomlinson said after the trial, ”they got what they wanted; they framed me enough right before the election to cause problems, and that’s what they did.”

Now that Tomlinson’s legal troubles have ceased, at least temporarily, he met with members of the Innocence Project and the Perlmutter Center for Justice. Before exiting office, Tomlinson and defense counsel filed joint petitions in all four cases for new trials. Tomlinson stated, “If the court grants this motion, I will move to dismiss all charges against these four men.”

Conclusion

The Ohio Four may still not get their day in court. When Cillo assumed the office of Prosecutor in December of 2024, he immediately moved to withdraw from the joint petitions for new trials. That withdrawal—granted by Lorain County Judge Giovanna Bremke on February 14, 2025—was the only foreseeable avenue left for The Ohio Four and Marsha Blakely to get judicial reconsideration. Meanwhile J. Edwards and Davis remain incarcerated, with their only hope for release being parole.

However, most parole boards require that the convicted admit guilt or accept responsibility leaving innocent prisoners little to no means of release. Although Cleveland and L. Edwards were paroled, they are also still facing the difficulties such as how to reintegrate into society after spending almost 30 years in prison and facing the stigma of a murder conviction on their criminal records.