In the matter of The People v. James Worley, an indictment was returned onTuesday, March 27 at approximately 4:20 PM.
Worley, 57, of Delta was charged with the events leading up to as well as the death of Sierah Joughin, 20 of Metamora in July of 2016.
The jury returned guilty verdicts on all 19 counts of the indictment, two counts of aggravated murder, two counts of murder, two counts of abduction, four counts of kidnapping, one count of abuse of a corpse and one count of tampering with evidence.
Duplicated charges in the case reference different sections of the Ohio Revised Code.
The jury also returned guilty verdicts on all attached specifications related to those charges.
Court will reconvene on Monday, April 2 at 9:00 AM. At that time the court will proceed with the sentencing portion of the case.
With the return of the guilty verdict, Worley now faces the death penalty.
Special instructions were given to all jurors regarding not discussing the case with any outside source while the sentencing portion of the case is pending.
Worley showed no emotion during the return of the verdicts.
Worley was advised of his rights to appeal the convictions within the next 45 days. He was also advised of his rights to a presentencing investigation and a mental evaluation as well as his right to make or not make a statement to the jury during the sentencing phase.
Chelsie Firestone may be reached at chelsie@thevillagereporter.com