Man Sentenced for Attempted Murder in Meigs County
Man Sentenced for Attempted Murder in Meigs County
Editor’s Note: It is the policy of the Meigs Independent Press not to release names of victims. The relationship of the perpetrator to the victim is part of this case, but her name will not appear on the Meigs Independent Press.
POMEROY, Ohio – One man has been sentenced for the attempted murder of his own mother.
According to Meigs County Prosecuting Attorney James K. Stanley, on August 22, 2022, Davis Shuler, 20, of Chauncey, Ohio was sentenced to 11 to 16.5 years in prison for Attempted Murder. Shuler entered a guilty plea to one of the four charges he was originally charged with in the case which involved him repeatedly shooting his own mother.
Shuler was indicted on September 8, 2021 by the Meigs County Grand Jury on four counts. One count each: Felonious Assault, a felony of the second degree; Attempted Murder, a felony of the first degree; Theft, a felony of the fourth degree; Kidnapping, a felony of the first degree. Shuler was scheduled for a jury trial on August 22, but chose to enter a guilty plea to the one count of attempted murder before Judge Linda Warner in the Meigs County Court of Common Pleas.
The charges stem from the incident on August 25, 2021. On that day, Shuler went to the home of his mother, and woke her up sometime between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. Shuler advised his mother he wished to speak with her about personal matters at another location. Shuler drove his mother from her residence in her vehicle to the Salem Center Cemetery where his great-grandparents, and his mother’s grandparents are buried. Shortly before 4 a.m. while at their gravesites, Shuler hugged his mother and simultaneously shot her in the abdomen with a pistol he had concealed on his person. His mother fled from the gravesites, and Shuler shot her in her back. His mother made it to her vehicle and began to drive away. Shuler entered the vehicle and removed the keys from the ignition, and his mother then exited the vehicle and fled on foot.
Shuler pursued her and shot her in the back again. At this time, his mother pretended to be dead in a ditch, so Shuler left the scene. Shortly thereafter, his mother ran to a nearby house for help. Shuler saw that she was still alive, drove to the house, and again shot his mother in her abdomen as the homeowner opened the front door. Shuler then fled the scene. He was arrested at the intersection of U.S. 33 and Rainbow Lake Road in Athens County later that day. Miraculously, the woman survived.
The victim and her father provided victim impact statements to Meigs County Court of Common Pleas Judge Linda R. Warner. A forensic evaluator testified on behalf of Shuler in an attempt to establish mitigating circumstances for Shuler’s crime.
Following testimony, Stanley argued for the maximum prison sentence of 11 to 16.5 years in prison due to the severe physical, psychological, and economic harm Shuler caused, the fact that Shuler was not remorseful, and the threat Shuler posed to the public. Shuler’s attorney, K. Robert Toy, argued for an unspecified sentence much less than the maximum sentence. Judge Warner sentenced Davis to the maximum prison sentence of 11 to 16.5 years in prison.
The Meigs County Sheriff’s Office, the Major Crimes Task Force, the Middleport Police Department, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office investigated this matter.
For more on this story, click the link below.
