Legal representatives for Elwood Jones have strongly criticized a recent declaration from Hamilton County's coroner regarding hepatitis B test results that played a crucial role in his murder case dismissal.
Dr. Lakshmi Sammarco stated in a December 22 announcement that laboratory findings from the 1994 killing of Rhoda Nathan indicated she did not have hepatitis B. This contradicted the autopsy report that showed Nathan tested positive for the virus.
Jones' defense team had previously argued that if he had violently assaulted Nathan as prosecutors claimed, he would have contracted hepatitis B from her. However, Jones tested negative for the virus.
A Hamilton County judge overturned Jones' conviction in 2022, partly based on this hepatitis B evidence, calling the prosecution's theory "scientifically implausible."
Conflicting Laboratory Reports
According to documents provided by Jones' attorneys, two hepatitis B tests were conducted at the same California laboratory in September 1994. The first test, completed on September 8, showed Nathan tested positive for hepatitis B. The second test, received by the coroner's office on September 16, indicated Jones tested negative.
Both laboratory reports lacked patient names but contained identification numbers that corresponded to official records. The report showing Nathan's positive result included numbers matching her county death record and autopsy documentation.
Jones' attorney Jay Clark expressed frustration with the coroner's statement, saying, "It's an embarrassment that the elected coroner would release a statement like that."
Coroner's Response
Dr. Sammarco told The Enquirer that after examining her office's complete file on Nathan, she found only one hepatitis B test result showing a negative outcome. She stated there was no document in her files matching the September 8 report released by Jones' attorneys that included Nathan's autopsy number.
The timing of Sammarco's announcement raised questions, coming more than a week after Hamilton County Prosecutor Connie Pillich announced the case dismissal. Sammarco explained she began reviewing the case after receiving inquiries from the prosecutor's office on December 9 about available DNA evidence.
The case dismissal with prejudice means Jones cannot be charged again for Nathan's killing, regardless of the coroner's recent statement.
Background of the Case
Elwood Jones, now 73, was convicted for the September 3, 1994 beating death of Rhoda Nathan in a Blue Ash hotel room. Nathan, a New Jersey woman, was visiting the Cincinnati area to attend a bar mitzvah.
Prosecutors alleged Jones, who worked at the hotel, entered Nathan's room intending to steal items and attacked her when she unexpectedly returned. They presented forensic evidence including bruises that allegedly matched Jones' radio and an infected hand wound that an expert testified likely resulted from striking someone in the mouth.
Jones spent nearly thirty years in prison before his conviction was overturned in 2022. The case gained renewed attention through investigative journalism that reexamined the evidence against him.
