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Local News

Saturday, March 06, 2010

Corbin convicted of murder
By JORDAN CRAVENS

staff writer

BOWLING GREEN -- A jury on Friday convicted Randy Corbin of murdering his girlfriend, and the Fostoria native was told he may spend the rest of his life in prison.

After three hours of deliberation, a Wood County jury found Corbin, 49, guilty of murdering Karen Coldwell, 51, of North Baltimore, his live-in girlfriend. They also found him guilty of tampering with evidence for dumping her body in rural Fostoria in October 2007.

Wood County Common Pleas Judge Reeve Kelsey sentenced Corbin to a combined 20 years to life in prison for the crimes.

"She gave him a home and money and even helped him with his health care and this is the thanks she gets," said Coldwell's daughter, Misty Mason.

"My mother didn't deserve this and things will never be the same for us," Mason told the court. Coldwell had two daughters and five grandchildren, she said.

Wood County prosecutors argued that Corbin strangled Coldwell after she told him to move out of her house because he had taken her car without permission.

The prosecution presented its final witness Friday morning. Corbin's attorney, David Klucas, did not call any witnesses to the stand and Corbin did not testify in his own defense.

Loved ones of Coldwell shouted "yes" when the jury of nine women and three men announced the verdict.

Corbin's family members began crying and calling out for him.

He turned to his family, gave them a thumbs up and said, "It's going to be OK."

Corbin did not make any statements during his sentencing.

His chin quivered and he wiped a single tear from his eye minutes before the judge issued the sentence.

Corbin murdered Coldwell while out on bond on charges in Hancock County, according to prosecutors and verified through court documents.

After the sentencing, Wood County Assistant Prosecutor Gwen Howe-Gebers said the key piece of evidence in the case was testimony by Corbin's brother, Frank.

On Wednesday, Frank Corbin testified that Randy Corbin confessed to him that he strangled Coldwell and dumped her body, losing his hat in the process. A hat was found near where Coldwell's body was discovered.

"It was very difficult for him (Frank Corbin) to take the stand against his brother," Howe-Gebers said.

Frank Corbin was able to draw a map for investigators that led them to Coldwell's body, which had been placed underneath a comforter on a property formerly owned by a Corbin relative, along Hall Road in Perry Township.

The last contact anyone had with Coldwell was on the night of Oct. 15, 2007. Her body was found four days later.

Jurors declined comment after the verdict and sentencing.

One family member of Corbin's maintained he was innocent after he was sentenced.

His daughter, Tesla Corbin, said, "He's going to come home to us some day and we love him."

Corbin's attorney, Klucas, could not be reached for comment before he left the courthouse.

Karen Coldwell "is at peace, finally," said Coldwell's other daughter, Jessica Reed. "But it does not bring that much peace because he is still alive."

"He gets to see his family even though he is in jail and we only get to see pictures of our mother," Mason said.

Corbin, who was indicted in 2007 for the crimes, will be given credit for more than two years of time he served at the Wood County jail awaiting trial, Howe-Gebers said.

Klucas said Corbin intends to file an appeal in the case, and the attorney also objected to Judge Kelsey imposing the maximum sentence.

Originally, nine days had been set aside for Corbin's trial, but it concluded after roughly three and a half days.

Howe-Gebers had subpoenaed about 50 witnesses to testify, but the state decided not to call all of them to the stand because their testimonies would have been repetitive, she said.

Prosecutors said no plea deal was offered to Corbin. The only available option would have been a charge of voluntary manslaughter, and prosecutors said they did not think that charge would be appropriate.

Cravens: 419-427-8422,

Send an e-mail to Jordan Cravens


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6 Comments

Latest comments listed first.
Kathy wrote:
Corbin convicted of murder
“ Mr. Rickard, [COMMENT REMOVED] he was found guilty so accept it! ”
Wednesday, March 17, 2010 12:47:20 PM
Teresa wrote:
Corbin convicted
“ Norman,
[COMMENT REMOVED] How much more evidence do you need? Corbin confessed to the murder by flapping his gums to his own brother. Did he confess to his brother because he felt guilty or because he was proud of what he did? We will probably never know that answer. Either way, Karen is still dead and her family has to continue on without her. Corbin should have received a minimum of life in prison without parole, not just 20 years. It's too bad that the death penalty was not an option. An "eye for an eye" would have been proper in this case.

R.I.P. Karen ”
Wednesday, March 17, 2010 9:54:58 AM
norman rickard wrote:
Corbin convicted of murder
“ i think the trile was a joke how can the put a man in prison with no evendece. or dna and the trile ending on a friday when the jurios want to get it over with and get the heck out of there and for the tapering there was more people that admited to tampering so do they get 5 years to what a joke but that wood county for you ”
Tuesday, March 16, 2010 8:37:06 PM
Margaret (Gibson) Morris wrote:
Randy Corbin
“ I knew Randy when we were teens, and I really don't know what happened to cause this. I do feel sad for all the families included in this tragedy, one persons act (in the spare of the monent even)can affect so many people. I hope that all can heal from this and I know it had to be hard for Frank, but you do what's right. God bless everyone involved, including Randy, though he's alive, I'm sure he doesn't let a day go by without forgetting what terrible act he had done. ”
Sunday, March 07, 2010 3:04:27 PM
don wrote:
sentence lite
“ The guy commits a murder he planned and then hid the body and only receives 20years to life rather than a life sentence. Can someone help me understand the reasoning behind only 20 years rathe than mandatory life in prison?
It appears to me that Northwest Ohio has become a sanctuary for murderers, thieves, pediphiles, and drug abusers and drug dealers. ”
Saturday, March 06, 2010 10:51:49 AM
terri lauck wrote:
randy corbin
“ my heart goes out to karens entire family.i am sorry for your loss.there are alot of innocent people who have suffered from this tragedy.randy has also effected the lives of his own children. god bless all of you. karens family and tesla,levi,and randy. ”
Saturday, March 06, 2010 2:33:09 AM
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