YOUNGEST Death Row Inmate CRIES Like a BABY Before Execution

In Ohio, “Not On Your Side’s” Jay Warren was there as a mother pleaded for her son’s life.

“…teenager who was about to begin a career in the military…” “…an autopsy just finished up, we’ve learned where investigators found the body…”

His mother said that she doesn’t want him to be remembered as a victim. They plan to set up a foundation to help other kids and keep his memory alive.

“That’s all I’m asking for. There’s a chance for me to become a better person, but again, it’s sad at the same time because this could have been prevented. Austin made his choice… I’m asking you not to do this to my brothers and my sisters.”

“Be a clean and neat murder.” That’s the testimony today from one of the two teenagers accused of killing Justin Back.

The Chilling Scene

Austin Myers, a 19-year-old, committed such a gruesome crime that people could not even fathom what had happened. The only way to serve justice was to sentence him to his demise. Let’s dive into this case, the chilling scene, and a chilling tale that gripped the nation.

Tragedy struck the quiet town of Waynesville, Warren County, Ohio. On that fateful day of January 28, 2014, the life of 18-year-old Justin Michael Back was brutally extinguished, leaving a community shattered and a family forever scarred by an unspeakable act of violence. But what unfolded in the aftermath of this heinous crime would send shockwaves through the nation as the true depths of darkness and injustice were unveiled.

For about three minutes, occasionally looking down at his notes, he began by addressing the victim’s parents. The Supreme Court puts an execution date on hold for the state’s youngest death row inmate, 19-year-old Austin Myers.

Also today, newly released documents from the Warren County Sheriff’s Office entered the public eye. Enter the names Austin Gregory Myers and Timothy E. Mosley: two individuals whose souls were tainted by malevolence and greed. In a twisted plot, they conspired to invade Back’s family home, driven by a sinister motive to pilfer a safe—an emblem of precious secrets and valuable treasures. Little did they know that their insatiable thirst for material gain would plunge them into wickedness, one that would forever haunt the country.

“Uh, Justin was trying to ask us why he was playing to stop…”

In Ohio, Jay Warren was there as a mother pleaded for her son’s life. Justin’s mother says she wants her son to be remembered as an innocent young man.

The Background

Myers and Back were buddies during middle school, sharing laughter and mischief in 7th and 8th grade. Back, a graduate of Waynesville High School in 2013, stood on the verge of a bright future as he prepared to join the Navy. But little did he know that tragedy lurked in the shadows, waiting to shatter his dreams.

One day, Myers approached Mosley with an intriguing proposition: a chance to make some quick cash. Mosley was enticed, and they pondered their targets. Should they rob a drug dealer, or Back’s stepfather, Mark Cates? Myers knew that Cates had a safe in their family home, safeguarding both money and a firearm. In Myers’s mind, the safe held a fortune of $20,000.

Fueled by their desire for wealth, they set their sights on Back’s residence in Waynesville, intending to seize the contents of the safe. However, their plans quickly shifted when they discovered that Back was home. Fearing the potential consequences, they aborted the mission. As they retreated, a sinister idea began to take shape.

Myers, driven by twisted thoughts, conceived a dreadful notion to eliminate Back. In his twisted logic, this act would not only silence their friend but also provide them with a convenient cover story. The plan unfolded with Myers envisioning a gruesome end for Back: strangling him with a wire. With their friend’s life extinguished, Myers and Mosley could stage a scene making it appear as if Back had stolen the safe and vanished into thin air.

To perform their sinister plan, Myers acquired a three-foot steel cable and two metal rope cleats. The tools of their wicked trade would serve as the instruments of Back’s demise. Assembling the garrote—a contraption to choke the life out of their friend—they set the stage for the following day when darkness would descend, and their heinous act would be unleashed upon the world.

“Create no mess, uh, pretty much be an easier job to handle…”

For the first time, the jury heard from Austin Myers himself. He spoke to them for about three minutes: “But I’m sorry. I wish I could go back in time and stop this.”

The Tragic Slaying

On the dark morning of January 28, 2014, Myers and Mosley went on a haunting shopping spree, stocking up on some sinister supplies. They acquired septic enzymes, ammonia, septic tank cleanser, and rubber gloves—a collection that would soon serve prominently in Back’s last moments. With their sinister purchases in hand, they left on a journey that would forever alter the course of their lives and others.

The clock struck 1:00 PM as they arrived at Back’s residence, a place that would soon become the backdrop of a nightmare scene. Their plan was set in motion. The unsuspecting Myers would divert Back’s attention, providing the opportunity for Mosley to unleash the deadly garrote upon their friend. Clad in rubber gloves, their intentions veiled in shadow, Mosley armed himself not only with the garrote but also a six-inch pocket knife—an object that would soon spill blood.

A knock on the door reverberated through the house, and Back, unaware of the horrors about to unfold, welcomed his childhood companions into the sanctuary of his family home. As the trio engaged in casual conversation, the tension hung heavy in the air, each passing moment inching closer to the inevitable. Back, unwittingly moving towards his fate, ventured into the kitchen.

The opportune moment presented itself, and Mosley struck, attacking from behind, attempting to suffocate his friend’s life away. Myers, complicit in the act, joined the struggle, grasping Back from the front. Their combined efforts transformed the kitchen into a battlefield.

A grave error dawned upon the frenzied scene: the wire intended to encircle Back’s neck instead rested perilously across his chin. Panic gripped Mosley, and in a frenzied state, he drew his knife from the shadows, plunging it into Back’s defenseless form. Back, a young soul full of promise, met a tragic end, pierced by the cruel sting of betrayal. As Back begged for his life, Myers simply told him it would be over soon. In the wake of Back’s demise, the house echoed with the frantic footsteps of the slayers-turned-looters.

At the official sentencing, Judge Oda heard from Myers as well as Justin Back’s family. Documents from the Warren County Sheriff’s Office provided a better timeline of how the crimes played out.

The safe—the elusive treasure trove of secrets and wealth—stood as an enigma before them. Its contents tantalizingly out of reach, locked in secrecy. A discovery of Cates’s handgun made the young slayers all the more happy. Returning to the kitchen, they attempted to conceal the evidence. The acrid scent of ammonia filled the air, a desperate attempt to erase the traces of their malevolence.

Back’s lifeless body was swathed in a blanket, concealed within the confines of Mosley’s car trunk—a tragic cargo that would stay forever. Driven by greed, they searched the house, stealing everything they could, like jewelry, credit cards, and even the remnants of Back’s life: clothing crammed into bags, a cruel reminder of the stolen existence. They loaded the car and departed from the house. The time marked ominously at 2:00 PM, leaving behind a silence in their wake.

The Cover-Up

While driving, Mosley became paranoid about being followed, so he took side roads to a remote area where he parked and checked outside the car for blood. Myers searched for Back’s wallet, which he located in one of the bags. The wallet contained more than $100, which Myers took. The two then drove back to Mosley’s house, where they unloaded items from the car to Mosley’s bedroom. Together, they dragged the safe up the stairs and changed their clothes.

Mosley proposed dumping the body near West Alexandria, as he knew the area well. They decided to hide the body behind a log in a field near the village of Gratis in Preble County. Mosley drove into the field, stopping about 20 feet from the log. The pair carried the body to the log and laid it on the ground. Myers then poured ammonia and septic enzymes onto the corpse, which was still clothed and partly wrapped in the blanket.

According to Mosley, Myers wanted to shoot the body, so Mosley got the stolen gun from the car and handed it to Myers, who fired two shots into Back’s body. The gun jammed on the third shot. Myers cleared the jam, ejecting the bullet to the ground, where the police later found it.

After they hid the body, Myers suggested they slay Cates to make it look like he had slain Back and disappeared. Deciding against it, the men drove to a park in Brookville, where Mosley tossed Back’s laptop into a dumpster. They bought a crowbar in Englewood and went back to Mosley’s house to crack open the safe.

Instead of the $20,000 that Myers had promised, the safe contained some paperwork, loose change, bullets, gun accessories, and other random items. Myers and Mosley separated items that they thought they could sell. Afterward, they burned the papers, several trash bags containing evidence of the crime, and their bloody clothes in a fire pit in the backyard. Myers and Mosley put everything that looked valuable from the house and safe into a bag. They then drove to Tipp City, where they threw Cates’s safe into a river.

“…to go get his gun out of pawn in Dayton and use that gun as well as the one they stole from Mark Cates…”

A Troubling Investigation

Cates came home from work around 3:30 PM, realizing that a table had been moved and some rugs were missing. Later, he and his wife found his safe and his handgun missing. They called the police and tried to contact Back, but discovered his cell phone had been left inside the house.

During the investigation, officers described a car that had been seen outside Back’s home. It had a distinctive missing back window covered in plastic and red tape. Cates told police that Myers had visited their home the day before in that same car. Warren County Sheriff’s detectives searched for Myers and the suspicious vehicle. The car was located by Clayton police, who detained Myers at Mosley’s house and notified the Warren County detectives.

Detectives interviewed Myers at the Clayton police station on January 29. Myers denied knowing anything about Back’s disappearance or the burglary at Back’s home. After the interview, Myers was taken back to Mosley’s house, and Mosley was taken to the station for questioning. When the detectives finished talking with Mosley, he was returned to his house.

Based on what they learned, the detectives had Clayton police officers arrest Mosley and Myers and return them to the station. The detectives again interviewed Mosley, and then Myers. Myers eventually admitted that he had been present when Mosley knifed Back. He said that when he had gone to hang out with Back on January 28, he did not know that Mosley was going to slay Back, nor did he know why Mosley had slain Back. Myers denied shooting Back’s body, claiming that Mosley had done that instead.

In adjacent holding cells, Mosley overheard Myers implicating him alone for the slaying. When the detectives interviewed Mosley, he confessed to the crime but implicated Myers in planning the burglary. Following Mosley’s confession, the detectives interviewed Myers again, who changed his story. This time, he admitted shooting the body in a foolish attempt at misdirection and acknowledged buying the materials to make the garrote and other things like ammonia and septic tank cleanser.

He continued to deny that he had restrained Back during the slaying, insisting he was not even aware he was being knifed at the time, but merely punched, claiming he was left in a state of shock and disbelief on seeing all the blood. The same day, Preble County Sheriff’s deputies found Back’s body after getting approximate directions from Myers. A Montgomery County Coroner’s autopsy determined that Back had perished of multiple severe knife wounds.

“I’m sorry that this happened. I know that doesn’t bring Justin back… I have a lot of good things I can do with my life, if you allow me to keep my life. It’s only going to hurt more innocent people. You kill me, they won’t fix anything. I don’t want to hurt people…”

Trial and Sentencing

Myers was indicted in February 2014 on one count of aggravated slaying with prior calculation and design, and one count of aggravated slaying. Both counts were accompanied by three capital penalty specifications. Myers was further indicted for aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary, grand theft of a firearm, and harming a corpse (all with an accompanying firearm specification), and kidnapping, tampering with evidence, and safe cracking. Mosley was indicted on similar charges.

Myers showed no emotion as the death sentence was imposed. In fact, he showed no emotion throughout the entire course of the trial.

However, a week before Myers’s jury trial, Mosley reached a plea agreement in which he agreed to testify against Myers. Mosley pled guilty to all charges in exchange for the dismissal of the penalty specifications. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The guilt phase of Myers’s jury trial commenced on September 22, 2014. On October 2, 2014, the jury found Myers guilty on all counts and specifications. The two aggravated slaying counts were merged for purposes of sentencing. The state elected to proceed on the prior calculation and design aggravated slaying count with the aggravated robbery specification.

The penalty phase of the jury trial was held on October 6, 2014. Myers presented the testimony of his parents and a sibling, and made an unsworn statement by way of mitigation. Myers had no prior criminal history or delinquency adjudications. The jury recommended the capital sentence. On October 16, 2014, the trial court sentenced Myers to his demise and imposed prison punishment on the non-capital counts. Myers’s conviction and his fatal sentence were subsequently upheld by the Ohio Supreme Court.

Appeals and Post-Conviction Relief

On November 10, 2016, while waiting for a decision from the Supreme Court, Myers submitted a request for post-conviction relief, presenting 60 reasons for relief.

What exactly is post-conviction relief, you might ask? Well, post-conviction relief refers to legal remedies or procedures available to individuals who have been convicted of a crime and exhausted their direct appeals. It provides an opportunity for convicted individuals to challenge their conviction or sentence based on constitutional violations, new evidence, or errors that may have occurred during the trial or appeal process. The purpose is to ensure that individuals have a fair chance to present new information or raise issues that were not previously addressed.

Myers’s request for post-conviction relief challenged the constitutionality of capital punishment and the Ohio laws governing its use. Myers argued that his lawyers did not provide effective assistance during the trial, both in proving his guilt and in the penalty phase. He also claimed that his due process rights were violated.

In January 2018, the trial court established a schedule allowing Myers to submit a supplemental request for investigation. The court also postponed ruling on the state’s summary judgment motion until Myers’s discovery request was resolved.

Ohio and Capital Punishment

Ohio has a long history with capital punishment, with laws dating back to the early 19th century. Over the years, these laws have evolved, reflecting societal attitudes and legal developments. The first recorded fatal punishment in Ohio took place in 1803, and until 1885, the state relied on hanging as the primary method. In 1885, Ohio transitioned to the electric chair, becoming the first state to adopt this method.

Ohio’s current fatal penalty statute provides for capital punishment in cases involving aggravated slaying, such as the one Myers is convicted in. Aggravating factors, such as multiple victims, the commission of heinous crimes, or slayings related to specific offenses, can make a defendant eligible for the capital penalty.

Currently, as of 2023, Ohio has an unofficial moratorium on capital punishment after GOP Governor Mike DeWine instructed lawmakers to find an alternative method to lethal injection, citing the state’s inability to obtain the needed drugs. Ohio currently has 134 people on the row, according to the non-profit Death Penalty Information Center.

Right now, a dozen state senators are banding together to abolish the capital penalty in Ohio altogether. State Senator Nickie Antonio has sponsored abolition bills every session for the past dozen years. The bill would replace capital punishment sentences with life in prison without parole. If passed, it could change the game for Austin Myers entirely. He could be spared capital punishment and instead get life in prison. If not, Myers would be the youngest individual to be put down in Ohio’s history.

Further Appeals and The Age Controversy

On March 1, 2018, Myers submitted a supplemental request for investigations. However, on July 3, 2018, the trial court rejected Myers’s request. On June 27, 2019, the trial court denied Myers’s post-conviction relief request without holding a hearing. The court determined that Myers’s claims were either previously settled or lacked sufficient factual basis to support relief.

Myers then sought to appeal the trial court’s denial. In 2021, it was found out that changes in state law led to the 12th District Court of Appeals decision that the trial court erred in dismissing Myers’s petition that claimed his defense failed to present expert testimony during the penalty phase on adolescent brain development, in conjunction with his age and mental health issues. Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell said his office was considering appealing the decision to the Supreme Court to provide some clarity, so Myers’s case would once again be heard in the Supreme Court.

The controversial question of whether a 19-year-old should be given the capital penalty for a slaying is a deeply complex and emotionally charged topic. The issue revolves around the age at which individuals should be held accountable for their actions.

Adolescence is a period of significant cognitive, emotional, and social growth. Research in the field of neuroscience has shown that the human brain continues to develop well into the early 20s, particularly in areas associated with decision-making, impulse control, and risk assessment. Proponents of not imposing the capital penalty on 19-year-olds argue that young adults are more susceptible to external influences, making them more responsive to rehabilitation and reform efforts.

However, proponents of applying the capital penalty argue that certain crimes, particularly heinous and premeditated slayings like the one Myers committed, warrant the highest level of punishment regardless of the perpetrator’s age. The assertion is that age should not serve as a shield against accountability for grave offenses.

Family in the Aftermath

On January 28, 2014, darkness unexpectedly and violently entered the Back family’s life. Justin Back’s mother, Catherine, is a lady of iron. She continued to fight for Justin even years after his demise, going into every hearing, making sure that Myers would not escape justice simply because he was young at the time of the attack.

Catherine was shocked by what had happened. She lost her beloved son over a robbery that amounted to nothing. While Myers’s lawyers tried to argue that due to his age, Myers should be spared the capital punishment, Catherine was there every step of the way to fight back and tell them that this was no accident. Myers had chosen Justin. He had chosen to slay him, even after Justin had befriended him when they were younger and tried to help him through tough times.

Since his demise, Cates and her family have started an annual 5K run in Back’s name where they raise money for scholarships. They have also started a “Pay It Forward for Justin” campaign where they have been asking people to do something nice in his honor.

Justin’s step-sister, Lexi, has done her best to bring some goodness out of an incident filled with so much violence and pain. Just 14 at the time, Lexi heard the horrifying details at the trial. Justin was almost garroted, knifed 21 times, and then shot. She sat through his funeral, which came just 10 days before the Wayne Township man was supposed to have joined the U.S. Navy.

Lexi said everything changed. “It was an eye-opening time for me. You realize that you can’t take life for granted. You can perish at any time, and that’s how I see life now. I hate that I have to see it that way, but I do.”

At Justin’s funeral, when Lexi was looking at him in his open coffin, it brought her comfort to see that the funeral home staff had taken great care to make him look perfect. He looked beautiful, and it was a comforting moment for her to see him look so peaceful after hearing of the horrible way he left this world.

That was when Lexi decided to become a mortician. Lexi wanted to honor Justin’s memory. She wanted to support families that were also going through something difficult. In 2019, Lexi was pursuing an associate’s degree in mortuary science. She had a passion for making sure the lifeless members of a family received the respect and care they deserve. Lexi plans to open her own funeral home. It will be called the Back Funeral Home, and there will be a picture of Justin hanging in the foyer.

Her mother said it takes a special person to do that job; it’s not an easy career, nor easy to handle that lifestyle. But Lexi is a pretty caring personality; she will make life easier for other families. Lexi is the example of someone who brought light from an incident that was shrouded by nothing but despair and horror. And that’s the way Justin will be remembered: someone who left a little bit of good in this world, even when he was not here to do it himself.

That’s all for today’s video, folks. See you next time.