Ravenna Township woman sentenced to 30 years in crash that killed 3, including daughters
A Ravenna Township woman who drove her pickup truck into a tree in December 2020, killing two of her daughters and another girl and injuring other passengers, was sentenced to 30 to 35 years in prison Wednesday.
"If I could take away all the pain and suffering, I would," Julianne M. Shead, 43, told surviving victims and families before Judge Laurie J. Pittman sentenced her in Portage County Court of Common Pleas. "If I could take our daughters' place, I would."
Pittman also ordered that Shead's driver's license be suspended for life.
"You'll never drive again," Pittman told Shead.
Pittman said the prosecution and defense had agreed to the sentence in advance, which Prosecutor Connie Lewandowski and Jonathan Sinn, one of Shead's two attorneys, confirmed.
"If I could by this sentence bring any of these kids back or relieve the pain of the ones who are here, that would be the greatest gift of all. But we're faced with what we have here," said Pittman shortly before sentencing Shead. "I don't know what the reason is that this happened. Why these young people were taken away. I hope to God whoever's listening to this understands that drinking and driving is a horrible thing. It used to be acceptable, but we're smart enough, we know better now. Maybe someone hearing this today will avoid killing someone else. I hope."
Shead was driving a 2015 Chevrolet Silverado when she lost control at a high rate of speed at a curve on Peck Road in Shalersville during the afternoon of Dec. 13, 2020, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol. The truck hit a tree on the east side of the road, with the force of the crash causing severe structural damage to the truck. Six of the occupants were ejected.
Marlana J. Mullin, 22, Christine Shead, 12 — both Shead’s daughters — and Evangelina (Evey) Montecalvo, 13, were killed. Shead's now 16-year-old twin sons, Garret and Austin Shead, Brandon Krotzer, now 17, and Shead’s nephew Matthieu Glass, now 21, were all injured, as was Shead.
The Ohio Highway Patrol said tests showed Shead had a blood-alcohol level of 0.105%, exceeding the 0.08% allowed by state law. She had been held in Portage County Jail on a $1.5 million bond.
Lewandowski expressed sympathy for the families of the victims, including Shead.
"One of the most tragic events we can experience is the loss of a child," she said. "Losing a child is like losing a part of yourself. The grief is never ending."
Lewandowski added, however, that Shead needs to be held accountable.
"Today is a day of reckoning for the defendant," she said.
According to a sentencing memorandum Lewandowski filed Dec. 12, the pickup truck was traveling north to an unspecified cemetery to visit the grave of Shead's husband Douglas, who had been killed in a drunken driving crash. Shead lost control while reportedly driving as fast as 92 mph around a curve and went off the road at about 3:25 p.m. The truck traveled nearly 350 feet from the point it lost control before hitting the tree. The memorandum said there was no evidence that Shead tried to brake as the vehicle traveled through a grassy area and instead had her foot down on the gas pedal.
Most of those in the vehicle were not wearing seat belts, and the memorandum noted that the Silverado is only designed to carry five occupants.
"In fact, Evangelina and Christine were seated on the boys' laps in the back seat," the memorandum says.
When the Silverado struck the tree, the passenger side and roof were mangled and sheared and Mullin, Krotzer, Montecalvo, and Garrett and Christine Shead were ejected. Mullin, Christine and Evangelina were killed on impact.
Krotzer suffered numerous injuries, including a fractured skull, bone breaks and lacerations. He was temporarily paralyzed and in a coma for a time with a breathing tube and still suffers the effects of his injuries. A wrestler at Ravenna High School, he has not been able to return to the sport.
Garrett Shead suffered head trauma and was diagnosed with a concussion. Both of his legs were broken and he had to undergo 16 months of extensive physical therapy to walk again.
Austin Shead also suffered head trauma, a concussion, as well as nose and mouth injuries. He required four months of physical therapy due to a shattered pelvis.
Glass had his seat belt buckled, but he still suffered a concussion and neck, collarbone and knee injuries.
The memorandum also says that some of the survivors have shown signs of post-traumatic stress disorder.
The defense attorneys have disputed some of the prosecution's contentions. Sinn acknowledged that Shead was driving too fast on a wet road with curves, but an independent forensic crash expert estimated the pickup's speed at between 50 and 60 mph. He also said the defense is not disputing the BAC level that was measured, but said there was no evidence she has used methamphetamines. He said substances found in her system that were suggested to have been meth were consistent with the type and amounts of ingredients found in several brands of cough syrup. Shead had a cough at the time and was diagnosed with COVID while in the hospital after the crash, said Sinn.
Sinn said Shead has taken responsibility.
"[Shead] knows what is going to happen to her and nothing we will do is worse than what's she's doing to herself," he said.
Emotional mix of anger and calls for mercy
During the sentencing hearing, which took more than three hours, about 20 people spoke or had statements from them read.
Amanda Paxson, another adult daughter of Shead's who now has custody of her twin brothers, recalled when she found out her sisters had died.
"I immediately spiraled out of control, screaming that it wasn't true," she said, then thought about her brothers, afraid for them.
"I envied [Marlana] for how smart she was," said Paxson. "I looked up to her so much and all I wanted to do was what she did. I loved her for who she was."
She said Christine is missing out on the high school experiences she would now have had.
"I just wish I could have seen her get all worked up about the big moments at school," she said "I know she'd be stealing my clothes because they wouldn't fit me anyways."
At times Paxson angrily addressed her mother.
"Did a single thought cross your mind as you piled your sons, your daughters, your nephew, Evey, into that…truck? No," she said. "Not one thought crossed your mind, did it?"
Melissa Montecalvo spoke about how she collapsed to the floor when told her daughter was dead.
"Evey was one of the brightest lights that I've ever known," she said.
"She was nice and helpful to everyone. Teachers even commented to me how helpful she was to them in the classrooms. She was beautiful outside and in. Many times she would bring home various reptiles to play with before releasing them. Evey was always trying to make me take in stray cats or any kind of animal she saw around because it broke her heart to think they were by themselves and hungry."
Surviving crash victims also spoke.
"My heart bleeds for the loss of my friends," said Krotzer, adding that he felt anger over a seeming lack of concern from Shead.
"I never got an 'I'm sorry' or 'are you OK?' But on Christmas, I did get a Merry Christmas text from [Shead,] so happy holidays," said Krotzer, directing these last few words to Shead as he walked away.
Garrett Shead said he felt "angry, let down and sad" and remembered laying on the ground after the crash and then again in the hospital and being told that his sisters and Evey, his girlfriend, were dead.
"I feel [his mother] should be punished for her actions and I would like her to fully apologize and understand the damage she has done to her family and many others," he said.
In a statement read in court, Austin Shead said he remembered seeing his sisters dead and his brother hurt at the crash scene.
"The feeling of losing my sisters because of my mom is an unreal feeling I can't put into words," he wrote. "From that day I've been angry about what happened."
He added that Shead is "still my mother" and he hopes she gets whatever help she needs.
Glass acknowledged that the crash was due to bad choices made by Shead, but he does not see her as a "monster," as some who spoke characterized her.
"She has been there for me when I was down," he said.
Terry Mullin, Shead's mother, spoke about her love for her daughter and her grief.
"I suffer every day knowing that my daughter did this," she said, adding she will miss her daughter when "she is gone" and that she would like to see forgiveness for her.
"This is about healing," she said. "We all have to heal and move forward and that's what this day is about."
When Shead finally spoke, she was in tears, apologizing and saying "I am 100% responsible." She asked for forgiveness.
"The forgiveness is not for myself. It is for you," said Shead, finishing by saying, "God bless you all."
Record includes prior OVI convictions
Shead pleaded guilty in July to three counts of first-degree felony aggravated vehicular homicide, four counts of second-degree felony aggravated vehicular assault and several misdemeanor charges.
As part of a plea deal, other charges in a grand jury indictment and a supplemental indictment were dismissed.
This was not Shead's first conviction for operating a vehicle under the influence. Lewandowski said Shead was convicted of OVI in 1999 and 2005.
At the time of the crash, Shead had a separate OVI case pending in Portage County Municipal Court in Ravenna after a Portage County sheriff's deputy stopped her on Peck Road with a BAC level that measured at 0.172%, more than double the legal limit, on Sept. 3, 2020. Due to this case, Shead was under an administrative driver's license suspension at the time of the crash.
She pleaded guilty this past July to first-degree misdemeanor operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol and was sentenced to 180 days in Portage County Jail, all but three of which were suspended. The sentence is to run at the same time as her felony sentence.
Reporter Jeff Saunders can be reached at jsaunders@recordpub.com.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Ravenna Township gets at least 30 years for crash that killed three
