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Murder of Reagan Tokes

Reagan Tokes
Born
Reagan Delaney Tokes

(1995-03-13)March 13, 1995
Edgewood, Kentucky, United States
DiedFebruary 9, 2017(2017-02-09) (aged 21)
Grove City, Ohio, United States
Cause of deathMurder by gunshot
Alma materOhio State University (posthumous)
Websitehttps://rdtmf.com/

The murder of Reagan Tokes occurred on the night of February 8, 2017, in the Scioto Grove Metro Park in Grove City, Ohio. Tokes, a twenty-one-year-old student at Ohio State University, was abducted by Brian Golsby while leaving her job in Columbus’s downtown.[1][2] Golsby robbed and raped Tokes, and forced her to drive to the Scioto Grove Metro Park.[3][4] There, he forced her to strip naked and marched her into a field where he shot her twice in the head just shortly before midnight. Her body was found the following morning.[4]

Golsby had recently been released from prison where he had served a six-year sentence for kidnapping a pregnant woman and her child and raping the woman. He had pled down to robbery and attempted rape.[4] He was staying at a temporary housing program.[4][5] The officials at the housing program[5][6][7] and his parole officer[4][5] did not monitor him, and he violated probation[8] and committed six robberies without being arrested before murdering Tokes.[6]

Golsby was convicted in March 2018 and sentenced to life in prison though prosecutors filed a cross-appeal, arguing that a legal error prevented him from getting the death penalty.[9] In 2019 prosecutors were granted the authority to appeal.[10] Oral arguments in front of Ohio's Tenth District Court of Appeals were held on July 30, 2020.[11] In September, the appeals court ruled that prosecutors could not continue to pursue the death penalty. Under former Franklin County District Attorney Ron O'Brien, the state appealed the decision[12] and the Supreme Court of Ohio accepted the case.[13] However, under newly elected District Attorney Gary Tyack, the state's appeal was withdrawn.[14]

The murder of Tokes received extensive media coverage in Central Ohio and was listed as one of region's top ten news stories in 2017 by The Columbus Dispatch.[15][16] The case has received national attention as well, being featured on programs such as Dateline NBC and On the Case with Paula Zahn.[2][17] It was also featured on an episode of Criminal Confessions on the Oxygen Network. Tokes's murder has also led to calls for changes in Ohio’s criminal justice system.[2][4] In 2018 Governor John Kasich signed part of the Reagan Tokes Act into law.[18] Tokes's family sued the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC) and NISRE Inc., the company whose program housed Golsby, arguing that their negligence and failure to monitor him led to Tokes's murder. Several courts dismissed the lawsuit against the ODRC[19][20] and the Supreme Court of Ohio declined to hear the Tokes' case against the department.[21] The lawsuit against NISRE Inc. remained pending, and a trial was set to begin in 2020.[22] The lawsuit was later settled.[23]

  1. ^ Cartwright, Summer (March 8, 2018). "Reagan Tokes trial: Prosecution pokes holes in Golsby's account of Feb. 8 using GPS data of his whereabouts". The Lantern.
  2. ^ a b c "On The Case With Paula Zahn S17E14 - Unchecked Violence - video dailymotion". Dailymotion. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  3. ^ Narciso, Dean. "Brian Golsby guilty on all counts in murder of Ohio State student Reagan Tokes". The Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on June 26, 2019. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Cite error: The named reference auto1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b c Revish, Jerry (May 23, 2017). "Failure to Protect: Loose supervision & opportunities to re-offend (Part 2)". WBNS-10TV Columbus, Ohio - Columbus News, Weather & Sports. Archived from the original on June 26, 2019. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  6. ^ a b Revish, Jerry (May 22, 2017). "Failure to Protect: The violent past of Reagan Tokes' accused killer (Part 1)". WBNS-10TV Columbus, Ohio - Columbus News, Weather & Sports. Archived from the original on June 26, 2019. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  7. ^ "Reagan Tokes' family files wrongful death lawsuit against ODRC, housing program". WSYX. May 18, 2018.
  8. ^ Myers, Jacob (March 8, 2018). "Reagan Tokes trial: Parole officer details Golsby's violations that could have led to arrest before Feb. 8". The Lantern.
  9. ^ Decker, Theodore. "Theodore Decker: Reagan Tokes' killer could still face death penalty". The Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on June 26, 2019. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  10. ^ State v. Golsby, 2019-Ohio-1618. (Ohio Tenth District Court of Appeals. 2019), Text.
  11. ^ Orozco, Jackie (July 30, 2020). "Prosecutors argue for second death penalty trial in Reagan Tokes murder case". abc6onyourside.com.
  12. ^ Decker, Theodore (October 6, 2020). "Theodore Decker: For Reagan Tokes' killer Brian Golsby, appeal could bring death penalty back into play". dispatch.com.
  13. ^ Haeberle, Bennett (January 22, 2021). "Ohio Supreme Court to review appeal that could lead to second death penalty trial for Brian Golsby". 10tv.com.
  14. ^ "APPEALS CASE DETAIL".
  15. ^ Siegel, Jim (September 20, 2017). "Killing of Reagan Tokes sparks legislation intended to fix system". dispatch.com. Archived from the original on September 21, 2017. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  16. ^ "A look at the top 10 local stories of 2017". dispatch.com. December 28, 2017. Archived from the original on March 8, 2018. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference Dateline was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ "Portion of Reagan Tokes Act signed into law". WBNS-10TV Columbus, Ohio - Columbus News, Weather & Sports. December 21, 2018. Archived from the original on December 21, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  19. ^ Ludlow, Randy (May 24, 2019). "Reagan Tokes family asks Ohio Supreme Court to allow wrongful death lawsuit". dispatch.com. Archived from the original on May 25, 2019. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  20. ^ "Family of Reagan Tokes turns to state Supreme Court for ruling on lawsuit". 10tv.com. May 24, 2019. Archived from the original on May 25, 2019. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  21. ^ Snyder, Kate (August 6, 2019). "Ohio Supreme Court declines to hear Tokes case". toledoblade.com.
  22. ^ Ludlow, Randy. "Supreme Court: State had no duty to protect Reagan Tokes from her killer". The Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on August 8, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  23. ^ "Case Information".