Dy'mond Vaden Offers Apology At Sentencing For Boyfriend's Killing

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: You're on the record in case CR 25703912, State of Ohio v. Diamond Vaden, who's present in the courtroom today with counsel, Ms. Deanna Robertson, and present for the State of Ohio's assistant prosecuting attorneys, Carson Strang and Ben McNair. The court is in receipt of the sentencing memorandum filed by defense counsel in this matter, and the court has reviewed it and will continue to review it throughout the proceedings here. Are the parties ready to proceed, Mr. Carson? Yes, Your Honor. And Ms. Robertson? Yes, Your Honor. All right, so then we'll begin with the State of Ohio, and I'll have the State please advise the court as to the facts in this matter. And then Ms. Vaden, they will speak, and their side will be able to speak, your attorney, and then you will be able to speak. Do you understand? All right. If there are people that stand in front of the court to express their thoughts, you're welcome to on both sides. There's not a limitation to that, but I would advise you that you are to direct your comments to the court. The court is allowing you to speak to the court so you can speak to the court and advise the court. It's not to disrupt the proceedings or to speak to the defendant or to speak to the other side. Does everyone here understand that? All right. That's fair, right? All right. [00:01:34] Speaker ?: All right. [00:01:34] Speaker 1: All right. [00:01:35] Speaker ?: That's fair, right? [00:01:35] Speaker 1: Please direct your attention, your comments to the court, and the court promises that it will take everything into consideration at the moment of sentencing. So, with that, Mr. Carson, would you like to begin, please? [00:01:49] Carson Strang: Yes, Your Honor. Thank you. Your Honor, I just want to be clear at the offset of this hearing that the state is standing before you today seeking the maximum sentence under the plea agreement, which would be 20 years in this case. I think the facts and circumstances surrounding the case support a 20-year sentence, and I'll take you through those briefly, but back in October of 2024, George Cox went missing. The last time he was heard from was October 19th of 2024, and from that point forward, he was not responding to text messages, phone calls. Nobody in his family could get a hold of him. Later that month and into November, his family members became more and more concerned about him, his father, George Cox, Sr., went over to the apartment that he was staying at, looking for him, trying to figure out where his son was at. He contacted the Cleveland police when he found that apartment empty, completely cleaned out, but he saw signs of what he thought was blood that somebody had attempted to clean up inside the apartment. Cleveland police detectives, including Detective Callahan, went over to that unit on Bosworth, and they used luminol inside, and I didn't want to show the pictures here in court because it's quite graphic, but the place absolutely lit up when exposed to the luminol from blood. That blood was determined to be George Cox, Jr.'s blood. With that information, police went over and talked to, a few days later, talked to Diamond Baden, who he was in a relationship with at the time. Diamond obviously denied knowing anything about his disappearance. She claimed that she had never been in that apartment, but they saw some boots inside her apartment that appeared to have blood on them. She said that those boots weren't even hers, that those were actually George's boots, and police took the boots, and they tested the blood for DNA, and it happened to be George Cox's DNA. During that time, George's brother, Jamari, had a conversation with Ms. Baden that he recorded, actually. And in that conversation, she absolutely denied any part in his disappearance. The conversation was about 11 or 12 minutes long, and during the course of that conversation, she gets repeatedly angry when he's confronting her about where's my brother, where's my brother, and she kind of presents the accusation that she may have had anything to do with his disappearance. Police eventually looked at Diamond Baden's phone on the night that George Cox went missing, October 19th into the 20th, she had multiple Google searches on her phone. Those Google searches included, what are the chances to survive in real life if you get stabbed in the abdomen multiple times? But at this point, Your Honor, we still did not have George's body. We didn't know where he was. Detectives from the Cleveland Homicide Unit and Missing Persons Unit worked doggedly to try to find Mr. Cox to track down every single lead that they could possibly follow. And it wasn't until May 16th of 2025 that George Cox Jr.'s body was found floating in the Huron River by two kayakers as they were out for a kayak. They saw his body. [00:05:35] Speaker 1: What was the date, please? [00:05:38] Carson Strang: May 16th of 2025, Your Honor, approximately seven months after his disappearance. Police investigators went out, found his body. He was wrapped in a sheet. That sheet matched a sheet that was found in the apartment that he went missing in, where his blood was located. And he was found and badly decomposed. Dr. Wolf from Lucas County performed the autopsy in this case. And although he ruled the cause and manner of death undetermined, because, too largely in part to the state of decomposition that the victim was in, he did state that the clandestine nature of the body disposal suggests a non-natural cause of death. And he further wrote, the police investigation indicates that Mr. Cox died a violent death. So, you know, it's a rare case where we don't have a, you know, cause and manner of death, other than undetermined, but we do have that additional language. Judge, you know, this family anguished for seven months while they looked and tried everything they could to find their son. You know, they reached out to everybody. They were in constant contact with Detective Callahan from the Cleveland Police Department. And that seven-month period, you know, they didn't have the answers that they were looking for. And they got some answers when his body was found dumped like garbage in the Huron River, but they didn't get all the answers that they were looking for. I hope today, as we sentence Ms. Baden on these charges, that some closure can come to them in the form of justice for George Cox Jr. But I know that nothing we do here in court can fill that void that's been left in their heart. I would like to, before the family speaks, Judge, highlight one message. So, George Cox's body was found on May 16th of 2025. In searching Ms. Baden's phone, the same day that George's body was found, on May 16th of 2025, she sent a text message to her current boyfriend, Emmanuel McLean. They had been in an argument via text message. Mr. McLean was not responding to her. And she wrote a text message to him that said, quote, you going to be missing next. I think this just highlights the lack of remorse that Ms. Baden had in this case. She knew exactly what was done to George Cox Jr. And that text message, in and of itself, shows that she had no remorse for what she had done. [00:08:25] Speaker 1: Do you have any information that she knew that the body had been found on that particular day that she sent the text coincidentally or purposely on the same day? [00:08:35] Carson Strang: That's a question that we had. We looked through the messages and looked through the news reports to attempt to ascertain that information. But it was unclear, based on the timing of the text message that was sent, whether anything had been publicly posted about the finding of the body. I will note that at that point, they had no idea, investigators had no idea who the body was. It took them a little bit of time to identify that that was George Cox Jr., which they were able to do through tattoos that they were still able to see on his decomposed body. It was later confirmed through DNA testing that that was, in fact, for a prosecutor. [00:09:15] Speaker 1: I have one other question as to the facts here. Ms. Robertson, you had not asked for a pre-sentence investigation report. That's why the court will take facts from both sides, just so you understand. If I ask a question, both sides can provide the court with information. You said that he was bound and the body was badly decomposed. How was he bound? [00:09:46] Carson Strang: Judge, it was, I'm trying to remember specifically the type of rope, but it was a marine rope, something you might use to tie a boat up or something of that major. [00:10:04] Speaker 1: Do you have any exhibits that you wish to show the court? [00:10:08] Carson Strang: I do not, Judge. [00:10:09] Speaker ?: All right. [00:10:10] Speaker 1: And how would you like to proceed next? [00:10:13] Carson Strang: Judge, I have four family members from George Cox that would like to address the court. George Cox, Senior, Sonia Calloway, Lynette Ford, and Candace Amos. [00:10:28] Speaker ?: All right. [00:10:28] Speaker 1: They may come forward. All right. Good morning. Okay. Can you give me one moment, okay? So we have a court reporter right next to you, and I want to make sure that I can hear everything that you have to say. So please keep your voice up, and I'd like to hear your full name, and if it's necessary, please spell it for our court reporter. Okay? All right. Go ahead. [00:11:16] Speaker 3: My name is Stalia Calloway. I am the mother of George Cox. [00:11:27] Speaker 1: Please, what would you like to say? [00:11:28] Speaker 3: I would just like to say thank you to the detectives and to the court system for diligently working to define our son. I don't know the story. But I do want to say that it's a tragedy that could have been avoided, and that no amount of time would replace the loss of my baby. But I do appreciate you all, but I do appreciate you all, and I just want to make sure that this doesn't happen to someone else's child and somebody else's family. And I want to say thank you. [00:12:15] Speaker 1: I appreciate you being here today and to finding the courage to come forward and talk about this. All right. Thank you very much. Good morning. Could you please let me know what your name is? [00:12:51] Speaker ?: My name is Annette Marie Ford. [00:12:54] Speaker 1: And how do you spell your last name? [00:12:55] Speaker ?: I'm Ford. [00:12:58] Speaker 1: Thank you. [00:12:59] Speaker ?: What would you like to say? First of all, I'd like to say thank you, Jesus. [00:13:05] Speaker 4: And I'd like to thank the detective and all the officers that worked so diligently to find my nephew and bring this to the courts. George Cox, Jr. was my first nephew, the very first. I have no children. He was like a child to me. Even though he had his parents. But the joy that I used to have with him since a little child until he was grown. Last time I saw him, he was on my birthday. The day, July 24, 2024. This is very upsetting to me. There is no amount of time that this person could get to bring back my nephew. That person will have family to come and visit her. I will never see my nephew again. Ever. He has a daughter that she will never, probably won't even remember her father. She's only eight years old. And, your honor, for somebody to do what they did to my nephew, I wouldn't, it wouldn't surprise me if they'd have done this before. How can somebody do something so terrible, you know, I'm just, it could have been avoided. It could have been avoided. And, I'm angry, your honor. I'm very, very upset. This has tore our family up tremendously. So bad. So bad. And, it's just, it's just so heartbreaking. And, it's hard for me to stand up here and be respectful, which I am trying to do, because I was raised that way. But, I want to say so many things, your honor. And, I'm asking, I'm begging you to supersede whatever plea deal that you gave this person. So, please, deep down in your heart, and do what's right for our family. You know, just please. Because there is a child that's involved that will never see her father again, ever. And, I'm very angry, your honor. And, like I said, I'm trying to be very respectful. And, I thank you for this opportunity to speak for you and express my feelings. [00:15:50] Speaker 1: Thank you very much. I appreciate all of your words. So, Mr. Strang, there is a plea recommendation from the state of Ohio with the defense. It is a joint plea recommendation of 14 to 20 years on the minimum side of the Reagan-Tokes. So, I understand the comments that have been made now. But, was Marcy's law complied with, did you advise everyone that needed to be advised on the victim's side here as to the state's plea arrangement with defense? [00:16:37] Carson Strang: Yes, your honor. I think the last speaker, I believe there was just a, I think she said that the plea agreement was between the court. You know, the plea agreement that you gave, that plea agreement, just for the record, is obviously extended on behalf of the state of Ohio. [00:16:54] Speaker 1: All right. All right. Thank you. Good morning. [00:17:00] Speaker 5: Good morning. [00:17:01] Speaker 1: And, what is your name? [00:17:04] Speaker 5: My name, I'm Chaplain Candace, C-A-N-D-I-C-E, Amos. Your Honor, I would also like to thank everyone. And, I would like to read my statement because I would like to be very clear about my nephew and how I loved him. And, I would never understand why Diamond Vendon murdered my nephew and tossed his body out like garbage. We will never recover from our loss. He was not garbage. He was a son, a grandson, a brother, an uncle, a nephew, a cousin, a friend, and certainly not last, a father. So many functions, so many responsibilities and relationships to so many people who loved him. His daughter would never know her father. His father and mother would no longer be able to touch him and love him like parents should. His siblings would no longer be able to spend time with him. Many of the relatives and friends would not be able to talk to him. He is someone that the world would not get to know because Miss Diamond murdered him in cold blood. June had hopes and dreams for his adulthood like every other young person. We know people in our history that took more time to flourish life, like Tyler Perry. For example, he had a rough childhood and a young adult life. But he succeeded and he is the only, the first African American to own a major film production studio. One of my favorite memories of June was when he was a young child playing and we had such great hopes for him. Because of her careless attitude and her murder, she literally threw him away. The tragedy here is that she snatched away his future at a young age of 32, before he had a time to reach his full potential. June also was my first nephew in my blood. As I remember June as a young child running around playing with his siblings and cousins at family cookouts, parties, and family reunions. I remember one holiday particularly when he was a young child. He and his mother and his siblings spent Christmas Eve night at my house. We played games, watched Christmas movies, and had so much fun yawning. In early Christmas morning, we rose around 5 a.m., sat in our PJs around the Christmas tree, opening gifts, and sipping hot chocolate and coffee. When June helped to prepare, and we also had pancakes when June helped to prepare, and this was the first time he had made pancakes from scratch. I remember the look in his young eyes, realizing that he could create something from scratch, and they would taste so delicious. He was so proud, and after that, I called him the pancake king, because he never wanted to use pancakes from a box again. Because of memories like that were so powerful for him, he wanted to spend that time and spread it to his daughter. During the Christmas holiday again, recently before his death, June walked in my house with two bags full of toys for his daughter Gianna. To hide at my house, to take to her on Christmas Day. He wanted to hide them in my home to make sure that she would not find them. He was so dedicated, and went out of his way to ensure that she would experience the Christmas magic. He wanted her to experience the joy and surprise that he experienced as a child. While there, he was laying on the floor watching TV and fell asleep, and my dog kept bothering him, licking him, and trying to get him to play with her. We were laughing because June was so irritated because he could not sleep. Even my dog recognized what a special person June was, and wanted to spend time with him. June would never get to continue the experience of being a father. To watch Gianna grow up, go to college, walk Gianna down the aisles to give her away at her wedding, and or meet a grandfather. His daughter would never need the time to know her father. As I said, I am a chaplain, a minister, and a Christian, and most importantly, a servant of God. Because of my belief, I know I must forgive her. God emphasizes mercy, removal of sins, and the commandment to forgive others as we have been forgiven. There are many scriptures in the King James Holy Bible that I read and study and believe. And I believe Jesus took on our sins. He died and was all those that confessed their sins. And Jesus also tells us and tells me that in Ephesians chapter 4, verse 32, about kindness and forgiveness. So, Gianna, I am trying to forgive her, but I do think she should be punished. I am working on forgiving her, so I can be set free of my anger and resentment. But I pray to God that during her time in prison, that this young lady will forgive God and ask for forgiveness. Thank you for your time, and I thank you for the court's time. [00:22:03] Speaker 1: Thank you, Chaplain Abels. [00:22:06] Speaker 6: Good morning, Judge. [00:22:18] Speaker 1: Good morning. How are you, sir? [00:22:20] Speaker 6: I'm okay. My name is George Cox, Sr. I was George's. Well, I'm still his dad, just not with us no more. First, I want to just thank the prosecuting office, all the law enforcement, and in particular, Detective Callahan. I mean, he was just a godsend to our family in this tragic event. I share locations with my son, so we always knew where each other was at at all times. So I knew his last known location was over on Boswell, where it appears this terrible murder happened. And I know that my sister, my aunt, and Sonia, George's mom, pretty much summed up a lot of things. I've been in contact with the prosecutor's office, so I understand what the agreement is and what you're bound by in terms of the 14 to 20 years being her sentence. So, just to the graphicness of this crime, you know, when we first realized George was missing, I reached out to the defendant and spoke with her. She told me, she said, Dad, I would never do anything to hurt George. She called me Dad. Knowing that my son was floating in the river somewhere with his body just decomposing, knowing that he had been hog-tied, wrapped in a sheet, drove an hour and 15 minutes away, and thrown in the water like he was just garbage and trash. And just to concur with what Candy said, he wasn't trash. He was a son. He was a father. He was a nephew. He was a brother. He was a friend. He was a lot of things. It may not have been perfect, but who is? But he definitely didn't deserve to die like that. Again, I understand you can only do what you can do. I understand the law. Personally, I think that some of these laws need to be changed because some things that happen need to justify or be punished. You know, if she stabbed him in a fight and dialed 911 and my son died, we'd be having a different conversation today. But we didn't even have the opportunity to properly bury him because his body was so decomposed. This is what I wound up going to the moral scene. This is what I had to go see. That's what I had to see, Josh. And it's so hurtful and so I can't even describe it. That's something I'm going to have to live with for the rest of my life. We had to cremate him because I couldn't put him in the ground looking like that. I couldn't. His daughter asked me, Dad, why did you burn, Granddad, why did you burn my dad up? And I'm going to have to explain that to her one day. I mean, it's just, it's been hard on this family. And I'm the head, I'm the leader, so everybody's been looking at me for answers. People wanted me to do things that would have probably had me standing here, but I wasn't going to do that. And I trusted the sisters, and I'm going to trust that you do the right thing here with what you can do. I understand that you borrowed, but we're going to trust that you do that for this family. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. [00:25:37] Speaker 1: Let's talk about your son for a second. [00:25:39] Speaker 6: Thank you. [00:25:41] Speaker 1: How old are you, sir? [00:25:44] Speaker ?: 55. [00:25:45] Speaker 1: And you're in good health? [00:25:47] Speaker 6: Yeah. [00:25:47] Speaker 1: Was your son in good health when he passed? [00:25:50] Speaker 6: Yes, he was. [00:25:54] Speaker 1: And was he about your build? [00:25:56] Speaker 6: No, he was a little smaller. He hadn't got the weight on him just yet. [00:25:59] Speaker 1: About how big would you say that he was? [00:26:04] Speaker 6: Probably 185. He was 5'6", 185. I think he took his mother height. [00:26:12] Speaker 1: How old was he? [00:26:13] Speaker 6: 32. He had just turned 32. He had just had a birthday, October the 6th. And I literally spoke to him the last time on the 17th. And he was calling me, asking me questions about a family situation. And they're asking me, was he right and what he did? And we had a conversation about that. And I said, okay, well, call me later. And I never knew that that would be the last time I would talk to my son. It's just so hurtful. It really is. My firstborn, I watched him come into this world and had to see him leave out like that. It's just, it's been a nightmare. I don't, it's nothing but the grace of God that's been holding me and this family together. Because it's just, it's just, it's just was just so unnecessary. You know, leave. You know, if you don't want somebody, and from what I'm understanding, that's what he was trying to do. He was trying to leave. So, again, it's nothing but the grace of God. [00:27:04] Speaker 1: Do you have a, do you have a different picture, one of him? [00:27:09] Speaker 6: I got in my phone, a stool picture of him in my phone. I do, I don't have one in here, but, you know, and I'm sorry. I really didn't want you to, but I just want you to understand. [00:27:20] Speaker 1: I appreciate you showing me what you showed, but I'm sure you concentrate on that picture rather than the one that you showed me. [00:27:28] Speaker 6: My office at home is a shrine of pictures of all my children, you know, and I don't want to say this, but in a sense, it gave me comfort. Because I didn't think I was going to find my son. I didn't think I was going to find him. You know, I really didn't. I thought that I would never see my son again. You know, and I'm going to try to be the best grandfather slash father that I can be to his daughter, but it's just so disappointing that, you know, she'll never get to get dropped off at school by her daddy. She'll never get to go to her prom and him give her away for a wedding or anything. You know, it's just so, it's just so disappointing. [00:28:09] Speaker ?: Here it is. [00:28:12] Speaker 6: Those are just pictures that kind of chronalize his life a little bit. [00:28:17] Speaker 1: This would be him on the far right? [00:28:19] Speaker 6: No, that's me. [00:28:20] Speaker 1: That's you. [00:28:21] Speaker 6: Yeah, that's me. Yeah, that's me. [00:28:25] Speaker 1: It's a few years ago. [00:28:26] Speaker 6: Yeah, I'll say. [00:28:30] Speaker 1: Is this you as well? [00:28:33] Speaker ?: No. No. [00:28:36] Speaker 6: I think that's his uncle. [00:28:37] Speaker 1: Okay. [00:28:44] Speaker 6: And again, like my sister said, the last time I physically saw him was for her birthday in Michigan, which, by the way, that's where I'm from, Michigan. And I also want to tell you, I traveled here 26 times in those seven months trying to get answers for us and for the family and find my son. Just a tragic thing that just was so unnecessary, you know. Again, even after the kill, you pick the phone up to call 911, but to go to the extreme that you went to, to drive an hour and 15 minutes, you had time to think about all this. And then, from what I'm understanding, you enlisted somebody else into this to help you dispose of his body. I mean, how selfish of an act. You know, things happen. You call 911. [00:29:32] Speaker 1: Whereabouts in Michigan? [00:29:34] Speaker 6: I live in Farmington Hills, Michigan. [00:29:36] Speaker 1: So you came down and around the lake, right? [00:29:39] Speaker 6: Every time I come here now, when I pass San Dusk, I have to think about my son. And you pass over the Huron River. I do, every time. [00:29:47] Speaker 1: All right. And that's what you did for seven months when you would come here? [00:29:52] Speaker 6: Yes. [00:29:52] Speaker 1: All right. [00:29:53] Speaker 6: Yes. Not knowing that my son was riding away right near me. [00:29:59] Speaker 1: Thank you, sir. [00:30:00] Speaker 6: Thank you. [00:30:01] Speaker 1: Mr. Strang. [00:30:05] Carson Strang: Thank you, Your Honor. Again, I'd just like to thank the family and the work Detective Callahan put in on this case. Detective Callahan, I believe, wants to address the court briefly, if that would be okay, Your Honor. [00:30:16] Speaker 1: Yes. Effective. Wherever you'd like. [00:30:24] Speaker ?: I can come here, Your Honor. [00:30:25] Speaker 1: Yes, that's fine, sir. Sorry? Yes. [00:30:28] Speaker ?: Can I slide the audio a little bit? [00:30:30] Speaker 1: Yes, you may, if you can. Some wires that might come with it, but that'll be all right. [00:30:38] Speaker 7: All right. [00:30:39] Speaker 1: Yes. That's fine. [00:30:41] Speaker 7: Good morning. [00:30:42] Speaker 1: Good morning, sir. [00:30:44] Speaker 7: Your Honor, I've been a police officer for nearly 30 years and have been strictly a missing persons detective for the last 15. Unfortunately, I've had other cases that are similar to the one that we're here on today. However, this is the very first time that I felt compelled to make a statement during this part of our justice system. I've been working on this case since the beginning of November of 2024, when the missing person report was initially made. Over that time, I've had the opportunity, although obviously at the worst of times, to get to know the family of George Cox Jr., particularly his father. With them, like some of the other family members of missing people, the thought of not knowing where your family member is is a heavy burden to carry, causing an indescribable amount of stress, anguish, and sadness that one cannot begin to understand unless going through it, including me. That is certainly the case here, and especially for his mother, who talked to George often, nearly every day. I have talked to both Mr. Cox and Ms. Calloway countless times over the past year and a half, and although I do believe they knew we were trying everything we could to find their son, I'm not sure I ever got off the phone with them thinking I did anything to ease their mind or obvious pain. That is and always will be the toughest part of my job. I will tell you this, your honor. One thing that I have learned over my many years of doing missing person investigations that end in homicide, there is one major difference between these cases and a homicide case with no missing person aspect. With the homicide investigation, for lack of a better description, there is closure for the family from the onset. They unfortunately know their loved one is deceased and can start the healing process right away, so to speak. With the missing person investigation that concludes in homicide, that is not the case. These families endure an additional time frame of pain and suffering, in this case seven months, with just not knowing where their loved one is and always holding out hope as they should that their family member is at least alive. That is an additional seven months of stress, sadness, pain, anxiety, that the criminal justice system often overlooks, in my opinion. As always, it just didn't need to be this way. It could have been avoided had Diamond faded and had an ounce of human decency. With Diamond fading, your honor, don't be fooled. She is well-spoken, polite, intelligent, and presents herself well. What you are looking at, your honor, is in wolf in sheep's clothing. Over my 30 years, Diamond can lie and manipulate like no one I have ever encountered. She will look you in the eye, no only lie, and be very believable all the same. It's a terrible talent she certainly possesses. While conducting this investigation and learning how she communicates and interacts with people before and certainly after her arrest, Diamond will manipulate, use, deceive anybody, including family, to get what she wants. She is the master manipulator. She has no limitations on her manipulation or deception to get what she wants. In short, everything about Diane Baden is centered around Diane Baden. On my third and final conversation with Diamond, I told her, other than telling me her name, everything she has told me has been a lie. No statement in this investigation is more true. I can say with certainty that Diamond Baden has zero remorse. She does not have any resemblance of her moral compass. Why she is like this, I cannot say. I can say that it is not because of the way she was raised. By all accounts, her parents are good people, hardworking, ethical, and most importantly, caring. From doing missing person investigations, I have learned many things. But one thing that I have learned without question, that there is a lot of kids that have terrible parents and still manage to be good, productive people despite their parents. However, and equally true, there are a lot of good parents that have terrible children to no fault of their own. That latter is certainly the case here. Diamond gets and deserves full credit for the person she is. This crime was horrific, Your Honor. The attempt of cleaning up the crime scene told the story of the type of person we were dealing with. A blood grunt was everywhere. Walls, floors, doors, just everywhere. Killing anyone for any reason takes a special kind of person. To knowably, willingly, and consciously dispose of a human being in the manner that was done in this case, as they say in poker, that is going all in on the self-centered and malicious person you are. In closing, I want to thank the court for this opportunity, as well as to Prosecutor Strang and Prosecutor McNair, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office in general, for their dedication and hard work in getting the amount of justice the Cox family and society deserve. I also want to thank the members of the Clean Police Homicide Unit, which are just about all here, as well as the supervisors, along with the Cleveland Office of the FBI, for their help and support in this investigation. Although I may be the face of this investigation, it certainly was not a one-man job. I have always a little respect to court's and her sentencing decisions in these cases, Your Honor. I respectfully request the court to impose their maximum sentence allowance, as I feel is more than warranted. Should that not be the court's decision, I do respectfully request the court to remember and consider those long seven months the Cox family had to endure, waiting for their closure, waiting to air those seven months to the end of the sentence. Thank you. [00:36:43] Speaker ?: Thank you. Thank you. [00:37:20] Speaker 1: All right, Mr. Stratton. [00:37:37] Carson Strang: Just one thing I think I would be remiss without pointing out is that we sat here and listened to all these words from family members about George Cox and kind of come to know a little bit about their relationship with him and what type of person he is. And I can't help but think of the text message that Diamond Batty sent after this homicide to her new boyfriend saying, you're going to be missing next, as illustrating exactly the type of person that Diamond Batty is. That's all I can. Thank you. [00:38:26] Speaker 1: All right, Ms. Robertson, then, for the defense. [00:38:34] Speaker 8: Thank you, Your Honor. Your Honor, I'd like to address just, first of all, the last comment made by Attorney Strain. You, when he initially brought up that text message, you asked him, you said, do you know when that text message was sent, if the defendant knew what was going on, et cetera, et cetera? I think it's misrepresentative to stand here and say that one line of a text message without knowing all the surrounding text messages or what was going on, what the conversation was about, to just attribute that one line to be related or somehow indicative of how she felt about this incident. And I'm going to ask the court not to give that much consideration because as the court inquired, the state of Ohio cannot say what was being in reference to. They can't say about the conversation. And it's really, it can be misleading. Your Honor, my client, I just want to say that we don't, first of all, we extend our sincere apology to the family. Words don't help. Apologies don't help. But I just want to say that it is never, ever a good thing to see a life, anybody, young, old, or in between, being taken. And from the defense point, I do extend my sincere apology. I want to say that all of us have many different sides and we all relate to our families different and we all relate to our relationships different. And I thought Mr. Cox Sr. said it well that none of us are perfect people and that no one, no human being should be thrown away like trash. And I can stand here, I can speak for my client but she will speak for herself, the biggest remorse she has was the decision she made after the incident. And you know sometimes people refer to this as being a Monday morning quarterback or a lot of times people will look at a situation and say if that was me, this is what I would have done. But none of us know what we would actually do if we're in a situation of this kind or that kind. And I would like to say that if there was an encounter with me and anyone and someone ended up dead, then I would call 911. That maybe I would leave and call the police and try to get somebody there or maybe I would try to render help. But for me to stand here in this court and say that I would definitely do X, Y, and Z would just be dishonest. Because none of us know how we will react in a really stressful and difficult and horrifying situation. And how you react, it really depends on how you handle difficult things. And Your Honor, I just want to say that again, this is a horrible situation. My client has accepted responsibility in this situation and she too is a human being and she's not a monster. I know the detective Callahan, he made his remarks because all of his interactions with my client was revolving around this situation. But he didn't know her as a person. He doesn't know how she is with her family. He doesn't know how she reacts under stress and so, I mean, he can say what he perceived under the situation. But when he's questioning her, you know, she's fighting for her life. She's trying to deal with someone who is a seasoned investigator and she's terrified and she's afraid and for people to sit and say, I wouldn't lie if I was afraid or I wouldn't mislead somebody if I was terrified, it's just not true. So many times you'll find somebody in a difficult situation and then what they do is every decision they make after that makes that situation worse. And that's what we have here. We don't have a monster. We have someone that was in a horrible situation. The situation got bad when Mr. Cox passed away and then every single decision that was made after that was a bad decision. But those bad decisions does not erase the human being that was before this whole entire tragedy occurred. And I'm asking the court to consider that and to consider that many times you have really good people, you know, we have doctors, we have lawyers, we have judges, who are amazing people in public and not so amazing people in private and in their relationships. And I'm asking the court to consider that and I'm asking the court to consider that. Thank you. One other thing, Your Honor. Yes. I would like to say that while Ms. Vaden's family is not going to speak, she does have, and I appreciate you, Detective, he did say that, you know, he's interacted with her family, she has a loving family, she has a strong family, she does not have an enabling family. She does not have a family that thinks everything she does is okay and that would ever condone any decisions she made in this situation. Thank you, Your Honor. [00:45:52] Speaker ?: Thank you. [00:46:05] Speaker 1: Ms. Vaden, this is your sentencing, so you have an opportunity to speak to the court. Would you like to speak? Yes. What would you like to say? [00:46:23] Speaker ?: Good morning. [00:46:24] Speaker 1: Good morning. Good morning. [00:46:26] Speaker 9: It's very unfortunate that two families are here today. What I do want to say is there have been situations that I've been in that I have walked away from due to violence. I wasn't raised that way, I wasn't raised in a household with a guy putting their hands on a woman, so there was a lot of times where I had to walk away from a situation other than being left from a situation. So, I do regret and I do think about it every day that I wasn't able to help him, that I wasn't able to call the police because I panicked. I walked away from a situation that was very, very, very, very, it was just a lot, it was a lot for me to, for me to, for me to deal with. I truly am very, very, very sorry for what happened to George. Me and George had an up and down relationship, it was good, it was bad, it was not always perfect, but I am a person that is a loving and caring person. And one thing about me, I'm not a person that's going to hurt you for no reason, or I'm not the type of person that's just going to just bully you or just put you in harm's way. So, I do want to say I'm sorry for the family, I am, I have got to know them, they really didn't get to know me, so they just seen one side of a relationship, they didn't really see the side, you know, that I brought, but I do appreciate my family for supporting me, they've been here through this whole process. Mentally, I'm still trying to figure everything out, but it was a reason why God brought me here, to keep me safe, because I actually was not safe. I was not safe with him, and I was not safe with the community, and like I said, it's unfortunate, but I'm very, very, very sorry. Thank you. [00:48:28] Speaker 1: Mr. Vitton, your attorney advises the court that your family is not an enabling family. And I've heard from the detective that they, you were brought up in a good family, with good examples, is that correct? [00:49:04] Speaker ?: Absolutely. [00:49:06] Speaker 1: They taught you. They taught you not to lie, I take it, yes? I taught you not to lie, I take it, yes? You called Mr. Cox's father, dad? Yes. [00:49:19] Speaker ?: Yes. [00:49:20] Speaker 1: So you did get to know him to some extent, and he got to know you enough for you to feel comfortable with him to call him dad, yes? [00:49:31] Speaker 9: I'm going to say no, because I really just was in his home, so it was kind of like respectful that he called him his first name, so I just felt like that was best, but we never really had a relationship. It was just kind of just, you know, whatever Jory wanted me to do, that's what I would do. [00:49:50] Speaker 1: He asked you what happened to his son? [00:49:54] Speaker 9: He asked me, but it really wasn't. [00:49:57] Speaker ?: No. [00:49:58] Speaker 1: You lied to him. What he said earlier was true? No. Well, did you tell him I would never do anything to your son? No. Well, what did you say to him when he asked you where his son was? I kind of was still like way, mentally not always there. I didn't ask that. I asked what did you say to him. I didn't know. You said you didn't know. [00:50:33] Speaker ?: No. [00:50:38] Speaker 1: Were there other family members that asked you? Yes. Who would that have been? [00:50:44] Speaker ?: A aunt. [00:50:46] Speaker 1: And what did you tell her? No. You said what to her? I didn't know. Anyone else? That I didn't know what happened to Jory. Yeah. How many times would you have said that to his family members? Twice. [00:51:03] Speaker ?: Twice. [00:51:14] Speaker 1: Did people in your family ask you? No. [00:51:17] Speaker ?: No. [00:51:18] Speaker 1: So, you said to the court that it was a lot. You said that you were truly very sorry for what happened to George. What happened to George? [00:51:38] Speaker ?: George died. So, like my lawyer told me, she didn't want to make it about me, but I felt that it would be better if I was to... [00:51:48] Speaker 1: How did he die? What happened? [00:51:51] Speaker 9: He was beat up and he was stabbed. By? [00:51:55] Speaker ?: By? By? [00:51:57] Speaker 1: By. By. [00:51:59] Speaker ?: By. Did you do this Google search? Yes. Asking if somebody was stabbed in the abdomen, how long it would take them to survive? Yes. [00:52:08] Speaker 1: Yes. Was he alive after you had stabbed him in the abdomen? [00:52:10] Speaker ?: Yes. And he was bleeding out? [00:52:12] Speaker 1: So, you had an opportunity to call 911 on his behalf? Yes. in the abdomen, how long it would take them to survive? Was he alive after you had stabbed him in the abdomen and he was bleeding out? So you had an opportunity to call 911 on his behalf. The detective said that there's blood all over the house. Did he go to different areas of the house? while he was bleeding? Was he unable to get to the phone and why was that? [00:53:00] Speaker 9: He was kind of just like in shock, I guess. He kept falling and I was basically trying to stop him from moving so I could help him. [00:53:12] Speaker 1: Did he want to leave the house? [00:53:14] Speaker ?: No. [00:53:16] Speaker 1: Did he ask you to call for help? [00:53:18] Speaker 9: He just told me to save him, try to save him. [00:53:24] Speaker 1: And why didn't you? [00:53:26] Speaker ?: Save him? [00:53:26] Speaker 1: He's asking. He's bleeding out. There's blood all over the house. This has taken a long period of time. You've Google search. How long does it take someone to die after being stabbed in the abdomen multiple times? [00:53:40] Speaker 9: I'm just panicked. I'm panicked. [00:53:42] Speaker ?: I'm panicked. I'm panicked. [00:53:44] Speaker 1: You would rather have seen him die then? than get help? This was your Google search, right? [00:53:54] Speaker ?: Yes. [00:53:54] Speaker 1: How long does it take someone to die? [00:53:56] Speaker ?: Yes. [00:53:56] Speaker 1: How long did it take him to die in your presence? Well, I'm not sure. Everything was just happening so fast for honor. I've never been in a situation like that before. So it wasn't -- we were fighting. We were fighting to try to save him. [00:54:14] Speaker 9: I did everything I can to try to save him. I just did not call the police and I regret that. [00:54:34] Speaker 1: How did you move him? [00:54:44] Speaker 9: I left the scene and people that I knew -- [00:54:52] Speaker 1: This is your statement. It's your elocution. [00:54:56] Speaker ?: Yeah. [00:54:57] Speaker 1: People you knew what? People I knew, they came over to the house and they -- [00:55:03] Speaker 9: I just basically just told them that I couldn't be there so they got rid of him. And they threatened me to not say anything to the police or they were going to basically confine me and my family. [00:55:26] Speaker 1: But these are people that you were close enough to -- I wasn't even close to them. People you felt you could trust to do that job for you, yes? Basically. [00:55:36] Speaker 8: Your Honor, we've shared that information with the state. [00:55:41] Speaker 1: Well, that's good. I don't have any facts. You didn't ask for a pre-sentence investigation report. I advised you if you were going to do this without a pre-sentence investigation report that I would have questions at the time of sentencing. These are logical questions that I think the court should be apprised of. I'd be happy to continue this matter and get a full pre-sentence investigation and if you wish you can provide that information to the court even right now if you have it in documentary form. It's saying me. If you wish to share it, you may. But clearly this is a sentencing where the court is trying to obtain information and it doesn't have available to it. So, Ms. Vaden, these people that helped you, who are they? [00:56:43] Speaker ?: Just people that I know around the community. [00:56:51] Speaker 9: William Rogers and Donald Humphrey. [00:57:13] Speaker 1: So, a sheet from your residence was used? Pardon? A sheet from your residence was used? Yes? [00:57:22] Speaker 9: It wasn't my residence. It was George residence. [00:57:28] Speaker 1: And where did that come from? [00:57:31] Speaker ?: It's off. [00:57:33] Speaker 1: Off of the bed? [00:57:36] Speaker ?: On the floor. Yeah, on the floor. [00:57:38] Speaker 1: It was on the floor? Yes, sir. [00:57:41] Speaker ?: Okay. [00:57:42] Speaker 1: And then where did the rope come from? [00:57:44] Speaker ?: Well, like I said, I left the scene so I don't know. I just kind of just left the scene and they went to the apartment. [00:57:53] Speaker 1: But you knew they were going to use the sheet? [00:57:55] Speaker 9: I didn't think, I didn't know what they were going to do. I just knew that, I knew that I had a mess and I panicked and left. [00:58:07] Speaker 1: And then you cleaned up afterwards? [00:58:10] Speaker 9: No, I didn't clean. I never went back. [00:58:29] Speaker 1: I hear that you were questioned by the detective. Yes? [00:58:38] Speaker ?: Yes. [00:58:41] Speaker 1: And during that questioning, did you confess to stabbing? No. At that time, did you lie to the police as well? [00:58:53] Speaker ?: Yes? [00:58:54] Speaker 1: Yes. Okay, I see you're shaking your head. And about how long was that after this took place? [00:59:06] Speaker 9: I didn't talk to the police again. [00:59:09] Speaker 1: What you were interviewed by the police, yes? Yes. Do you remember when that was? That was, I'm not sure the actual date, but after that interview I didn't talk to the detectives anymore. What was the date that you stabbed to death, Mr. Cox? [00:59:36] Speaker 9: I want to say the 18th, the 18th of October. [00:59:45] Speaker 1: Do we have a date of the statement, Mr. Strang? Yes. [00:59:50] Speaker ?: It's October 19th, 28th, 24th, you're on. All right. [00:59:52] Speaker 1: And in that statement, you advised the detective that you weren't present, you don't know what happened? Yes. Did the gentleman that you mentioned tell you where they had put the body? [01:00:36] Speaker 9: No. Once I let you know. [01:00:41] Speaker 1: And did you ever speak to them again? [01:00:43] Speaker ?: No. [01:00:52] Speaker 1: How did you know you could trust them to do this? [01:01:00] Speaker 9: I didn't know I could trust them. I just knew that they would come maybe if I didn't tell on them. [01:01:22] Speaker 1: Were you dating Mr. Cox? I was on and off about four years. You mentioned that was his residence, so you didn't reside there with him? No. But you met his daughter? Yes, I met his daughter. Frequently? No. No. Like a number of times? No? No. [01:01:48] Speaker ?: All right. [01:01:49] Speaker 1: No. You had your own place that you could stay, yes? [01:01:53] Speaker ?: Yes. [01:01:54] Speaker 1: So you weren't trapped in like a residence situation with him where you couldn't leave and go to your own place, correct? Yes. [01:02:06] Speaker ?: All right. [01:02:06] Speaker 1: Is there anything else that you'd like to say? Yes. [01:02:12] Speaker ?: Go ahead. [01:02:13] Speaker 9: This situation is very traumatizing for me, but I'm still remorseful and I still regret the day that it happened. I think about it every day and mentally I'll never forget. All right. [01:02:38] Speaker 1: Thank you very much. You may be seated. All right. When the defendant did enter a change of plea, it was understood by both of the parties that were making an agreed recommended sentence to the court that there would have to be a period of consecutive time. Is that correct, Mr. Strang? That's correct. And Ms. Robertson? Yes, Your Honor. All right. All right. The defendant had pled guilty to count number one as amended. It was a murder charge. The state of Ohio entered into a plea arrangement with the defense to amend count number one to involuntary manslaughter, a felony of the first degree, a violation of 2903.04A. As a felony of the first degree, there's an indefinite term of incarceration with a minimum period of time and a maximum period of time that was discussed, and the defendant was fully apprised of all of that. Count number three is also an indefinite period of time. This is a Filoni's assault felony of the second degree, a violation of 2903.11A.1. And the court advised the defendant of the Reagan-Tokes advisement, and she did sign that as well on that date with her counsel, and we did review all of the language there. The court's obliged to do this at the time of sentence, saying, per the case law. So I'm advising you again the same things that we talked about before. I want to make sure that you understood them then and you understand them now. Do you understand, Ms. Vaden? [01:05:08] Speaker ?: Yes. [01:05:09] Speaker 1: All right. So I'm reading to you, and I'll have this placed right in front of you again. Okay. As this is being handed to you, Ms. Robertson, you'll see that your attorney's signature is there. That was done in front of me, correct? [01:05:30] Speaker 8: That's correct, Your Honor. [01:05:32] Speaker 1: And Ms. Vaden, that is your signature that you understood all of this, yes? [01:05:36] Speaker ?: Yes. [01:05:36] Speaker 1: All right. So let us read this again together. The defendant has also been notified, paragraph 1, that it is rebuttably presumed that the offender will be released from the service of the sentence on the expiration of the minimum prison term imposed as part of the sentence around the offender's presumptive earned early release date as defined in section 2967.271 of the revised code, whichever is earlier. And paragraph 2, that the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction may rebutt the presumption described in Division B2C1 of this section. If at a hearing held under section 2967.271 of the revised code, the department makes specified determinations regarding the offender's conduct while confined, the offender's rehabilitation, the offender's threat to society, the offender's restrictive housing, if any, while confined, and the offender's security classification. Paragraph 3, that if as described in Division B2C2 of this section of the department at the hearing makes the specified determinations and rebuts the presumption, the department may maintain the offender's incarceration after the expiration of that minimum term or after that presumptive earned early release date for the length of time the department determines to be reasonable, subject to the limitations specified in section 2967.271 of the revised code. Paragraph 4, that if the offender has not been released prior to the expiration of the expiration of the expiration of the offender's maximum prison term imposed as part of the sentence, the offender must be released upon the expiration of that term. Paragraph 4, that if the offender has not been released upon the expiration of that term. Paragraph 5, that if the offender has not been released, the offender has not been released. Paragraph 5, that if the offender has not been released, the offender has not been released, the offender has not been released. [01:08:24] Speaker ?: Paragraph 5, that if the offender has not been released, the offender has not been released. [01:08:24] Speaker 1: Paragraph 5, that if the offender has not been released, the offender has not been released. Paragraph 5, that if the offender has not been released, the offender has not been released. Paragraph 5, that if the offender has not been released, the offender has not been released. Paragraph 5, that if the offender has not been released, the offender has not been released. Paragraph 5, that if the offender has not been released, the offender has not been released. Paragraph 5, that if the offender has not been released, the offender has not been released. Paragraph 5, that if the offender has not been released, the offender has not been released. Paragraph 5, that if the offender has not been released, the offender has not been released. Paragraph 5, that if the offender has not been released, the offender has not been released. Paragraph 5, that if the offender has not been released. Paragraph 5, that if the offender has not been released, the offender has not been released. deterrence, rehabilitation, and providing for restitution, and the court has considered the relevant sentencing guidelines provided in revised codes 2929.11, 2929.12, and 2929.13, as well as 2929.19. [01:09:05] Speaker ?: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. [01:10:33] Speaker 1: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. [01:10:43] Speaker ?: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. [01:10:43] Speaker 1: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. [01:10:51] Speaker ?: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. [01:10:51] Speaker 1: Thank you. [01:10:53] Speaker ?: Thank you. Thank you. [01:10:53] Speaker 1: Thank you. Thank you. [01:10:57] Speaker ?: Thank you. [01:10:57] Speaker 1: Thank you. [01:10:59] Speaker ?: Thank you. Thank you. [01:10:59] Speaker 1: Thank you. maximum sentence. The court will follow the party's recommendation and sentence within the range. As such there will be a consecutive sentence and the court has reviewed each of these crimes that have been committed here and the court will note that it is employing consecutive sentences consistent with the party's agreement and also pursuant to 2929.14 C4B, the court imposes prison terms consecutively finding that the consecutive service is necessary to protect the public from future crime or to punish the defendant, that the consecutive sentences are not disproportionate to the seriousness of the defendant's conduct and of the danger defendant poses to the public and that at least two of the multiple offenses were committed in this case as part of one or more courses of conduct and the harm caused by said multiple offenses was so great or unusual that no single prison term for any of the offenses committed as part of any of the courses of conduct adequately reflects the seriousness of the defendant's conduct. The court also imposes consecutive sentences pursuant to 2929.14 C4C finding that consecutive sentence service is necessary to protect the public for future crime or to punish the defendant, that the consecutive sentences are not disproportionate to the seriousness of the defendant's conduct and to the danger defendant poses to the public and that defendant's history of criminal conduct demonstrates that that the consecutive sentences are necessary to protect the public from future crime by the defendant. Ms. Vaden, did Mr. McQueen help dispose of that body? Why did you send that text message? I'm sorry? [01:13:16] Speaker 9: What I was going through was the answer to the phone and it was kind of supposed to be like a message basically saying, are you okay? Like basically like call me, make sure you're okay because I don't want you to be missing like next. I'm kind of supposed to be like a, you know, you know what I'm going through, please don't, you know, like put me in a situation where it was just kind of like, it was just kind of like a... [01:13:46] Speaker 1: The text is you are going to be missing next. [01:13:49] Speaker 9: Yes, but like I said, it was a message, we were texting and it was like a message basically me checking on his whereabouts to make sure that he... [01:14:00] Speaker 1: For his welfare. Okay, understood. All right, I'll take that then, as you say. I have reviewed the council's sentencing memorandum as well. As to the involuntary manslaughter fell into the first degree. The court will sentence you to a period of 11 years. That is the maximum sentence on that count. This will be the qualifying offense. As such, per Reagan-Tokes... There is a 5.5-year additional time that is possible pursuant to the language that I've already read to you. On this count alone, you are to serve a minimum prison term of 11 years with an indefinite prison term of 5.5 years. On this count alone, then, that would be for a maximum prison term of 16.5 years. As to count number 3, this is the felonious assault felony to the second degree. The court composes a prison term of 8 years, which will be run consecutively. As to the gross abuse of a corpse felony of the fifth degree. [01:16:16] Speaker ?: where you employed the use of other people. [01:16:34] Speaker 1: which such careful intention to have them packaged up. and the knowledge over a seven-month period to the harm caused to the family. The court will sentence you to seven months. All of that period of time will also be consecutive pursuant to the court's findings. Your sentence is 19 years and seven months. You are to serve a minimum prison term of 19 years and seven months with an indefinite prison term of 5.5 years for the maximum prison term, then, I believe, 25.2 years or 25, just to say, 25 years, two months. The court will ensure that the math is appropriate. Mr. Carson. [01:17:56] Carson Strang: Yes, Judge, we agree with that calculation. We just wanted to make sure there was a PRC advisement and not argument done. [01:18:16] Speaker 1: Have not done that yet. [01:18:17] Carson Strang: Thank you. [01:18:29] Speaker 1: On the felony of the first degree in voluntary manslaughter, there's a mandatory minimum of two years, up to a maximum of five years of post-release control supervision. On the felony of the second degree, there's a mandatory minimum of 18 months, up to a maximum of three years of adult parole supervision. On the felony of the fifth degree for the gross abuse of the corpse, the adult parole authority has the ability to supervise you for a period of up to two years. It's at their discretion or, in other words, their choice. And if you violate any post-release control ruler condition, you may be subjected to a more restrictive ruler condition, a longer duration under supervision, or you could be sent back to prison, even though you have done all the time to which you have been sentenced. You could get up to nine months in prison for each rule violation. The total, however, for all rule violations cannot be any more than one half of the prison sentence that you receive, unless the rule violation is for the commission of a new felony, in which case you could receive a prison term of the greater of one year, or the time remaining on post-release control, in addition to any time that you receive for the new felony. The post-release control prison term must be served consecutively, which means one after the other, to any prison term that you receive for the new felony. The court will take back that Reagan-Tokes advisement form from you after the proceedings here. And there is credit for time served in this matter, which the court has calculated. 234 days, which the court will put into journal entries so we can have a clear record of that. Ms. Robertson, as to your motion as to the defendant? The court. [01:20:30] Speaker 4: Yes. All right. [01:20:32] Speaker 1: The court will waive court costs and fees finding the defendant to be indigent and will not assess those. Mr. Strang or Mr. Mc-- I'm sorry. Yeah, Mr. Strang or Mr. McNair, any further issues from the state? [01:20:47] Carson Strang: No, Your Honor, thank you. [01:20:49] Speaker 1: Ms. Robertson? No, Your Honor, thank you. All right, thank you. Thank you, everyone. Thank you all for being here. I would expect deputies who won't have to be able to leave first.