Jury convicts man in St. Marys murder

WAPAKONETA — A St. Marys man was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years to life in prison for beating a man outside a bar so bad it led to his death.A jury convicted Gordon Diggle III of murder, aggravated robbery and felonious assault in the Sept. 8 attack of 64-year-old Steven Casad, which led to his death four days later. Casad was beaten in an alley after leaving the Friendly Tavern in St. Marys. Judge Frederick Pepple of Auglaize County Common Pleas Court issued the 15-year-to-life sentence on the murder and felonious assault charges but will hold a separate hearing, likely sometime in June, to consider a sentence of up to 10 years on the aggravated robbery charge.The jury returned the guilty verdicts after 3.5 hours of deliberations to end the trial that was in its sixth day.Afterward, Assistant Auglaize County Prosecutor Amy Beckett said Casad's statements to medical personnel at the hospital and others were key to the conviction. She said the jury took Casad at his word despite the fact it came through witnesses.“The way he told it and what he told and the fact the scientific evidence corroborated it,” she said.Beckett said the verdict finally brings justice to the Casad family.“It's so awful to think about a man begging for his life in an alley,” she said.Diggle's attorney, John Poppe, was disappointed by the verdict and said there will be an appeal. Poppe said the judge never should have let Casad's statements go before the jury.“All the testimony was hearsay. All the testimony originated from Steve Casad. Steve said Gordy did it,” Poppe said. “There's no way for us to cross-examine Steve Casad.”Poppe said the statements by Casad were the only evidence the jury had to link Diggle to the attack and he said it was not credible and should not have been allowed.During the trial, testimony revealed Diggle ran into Casad at the bar that day and drank a beer with him. The two men were seen walking out together. A short time later, Casad made his way back to his nearby home in a bloody mess saying Diggle attacked him in an alley.Casad was rushed to the hospital in St. Marys and later transported to a hospital in Dayton where he died from brain injuries. Casad was severely beaten in the head and had bruises on his body. One of his eyes was swollen shut and the other was in a similar condition.Beckett said Diggle beat Casad out of revenge for calling the cops on him for an earlier fight and to steal a wad of money Casad was carrying.You can comment on this story at www.limaohio.com.