Verdicts handed down for mass shooting at Ohio gender reveal party

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COLERAIN, Ohio (AP) — A man accused of taking part in a deadly mass shooting during a gender-reveal party has been convicted on all counts, while a co-defendant was acquitted of nearly all charges.

The July 2017 shooting in Colerain Township left one woman dead and eight people wounded, including three children.

Hamilton County prosecutors had said James Echols, 26, and Michael Sanon, 24, both of Columbus, carried out the shooting as part of a murder-for-hire plot that targeted Cheyanne Willis, the woman the party was being held for and one of the wounded victims. Willis claimed to have suffered a miscarriage after being shot in the thigh, but investigators later determined she was not pregnant at the time.

Willis’ cousin, 22-year-old Autum Garrett of Andrews, Indiana, was killed in the shooting in Colerain, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northwest of Cincinnati. Her husband and two children were among the victims.

Echols was found guilty Tuesday on all 22 counts he faced, including aggravated murder. Sanon faced the same charges but was acquitted on nearly all counts, being found guilty only of a single attempted murder charge.

Witnesses told police about 30 people attended the party, but only about a dozen stayed into the night to watch a movie. Two armed men entered the home through an unlocked door and sprayed at least 14 gunshots into the living room before running away.

Associated Press

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