Grand jury indicts man in 4 deaths

A Lawrence County man faces a 13-count grand jury indictment issued Wednesday in the slayings of four people last week, including an 8-year-old boy.

Arron Lawson, 23, is charged with four counts of aggravated murder, along with various other charges, each carrying numerous specifications that enhance the criminal penalties.

Lawrence County Prosecutor Brigham Anderson has said that he is prepared to seek the death penalty in part because of the number of victims, the age of the youngest and the gruesome, premeditated nature of the attacks, which occurred ambushstyle, over several hours on

Oct. 11.

Lawson is accused in the killings of Devin Holston, 8; his mother, Stacey Nicole Jackson, 24; Jackson’s mother, Tammie L. McGuire, 43; and Jackson’s stepfather, Donald E. McGuire, 50, at Jackson’s mobile home on Route 93 in Decatur Township, about 30 miles north of Ironton in northern Lawrence County.

Each of the victims was shot twice with a shotgun, according to the Lawrence County coroner’s office.

The indictment includes a rape charge related to Jackson’s attack; along with charges that Lawson mistreated a corpse, stole a vehicle and concealed evidence while committing the attacks. The Lawrence County sheriff’s office previously had said that Devin’s body was purposefully hidden inside the home.

The counts related to the McGuires and Devin include a specification that their slayings essentially were to prevent them from testifying about Jackson’s death. It appears that the McGuires walked in on their daughter’s slaying when they went to her trailer to check on her.

Lawson, a cousin of the McGuires, was captured a week ago walking along Route 52 near the Wayne National Forest after a tip from a resident. He was the subject of an extensive manhunt overnight after being chased by police and crashing a pickup truck. Lawson is being held without bond in the Lawrence County jail.

No other details were provided about the indictments at a news conference.

Devin’s father and Jackson’s husband, Todd Holston, was stabbed but fought off Lawson when he arrived home from work. The couple’s 2-year-old son, Braxton, was found unharmed in the trailer.

Todd Holston has questioned why Devin was sent from school by school bus to his home on Oct. 11 instead of to his grandparents’ home about a quarter-mile south, where he normally would have been taken.

School officials said a male caller, later determined to be Lawson using Jackson’s cellphone, had called the school to have Devin sent to his own home rather than to his grandparents’ residence.

Wes Harrison, superintendent of the Rock Hill Local School District, said that Devin had been dropped off at both locations in the

past and that his mother’s cellphone, recorded by caller ID, was the same as one on file used to authorize a student’s early release or bus drop-off at a different location.

The Ohio School Boards Association allows school districts to make their own policies on such issues.

“I don’t see how the school violated any procedure,” Harrison said. “No one could have known that Stacey was dead. No one could have known.”

Dennis Hankins, school board president, said he will investigate the matter.

“I plan to have a thorough discussion,” Hankins said. “Did we follow protocol?”

The funeral for Donald and Tammie McGuire is scheduled for noon Thursday at Hall Home and Crematory in Proctorville. Visitation is one hour before. Burial will follow in Ross Cemetery in Rush, Kentucky.

The funeral for Stacey Jackson and Devin Holston is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday at Central Christian Church in Ironton, following visitation from 5 to 7 p.m. Arrangements for burial are pending. This list is compiled from voluntary submissions by parents to hospitals.

Iesha/ Oct. 16 Oct. 17 Oct. 16 Jennifer: girl, Oct. 17 Brandy/ Joson: girl, Oct. 15 Blood drives are open today at: 4820 Sawmill Road, 11:45 a.m.-7 p.m. 1739 N. High St., 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

1327 Cameron Ave., Oak Creek Building, Lewis Center, 1-7 p.m. 3535 Olentangy River Road, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. 324 Gay St., Lancaster, 2-7 p.m. 337 Stoneridge Lane, Gahanna, 1-7 p.m. 4327