Psychologist: Golsby’s upbringing a ‘recipe for disaster’

Brian Golsby was born into an extended family rooted in poverty, substance abuse, violence and mental impairment, which was “a recipe for disaster,” a forensic psychologist testified in the killer’s capital-murder case.

Jurors heard the final defense witness in the deathpenalty phase of the trial in Franklin County Common Pleas Court on Monday; it is expected to wrap up Tuesday with closing arguments.

Golsby, 30, was convicted last week in the February 2017 kidnapping, robbery, rape and murder of Reagan Tokes, a 21-year-old Ohio State University student, months before she was to graduate.

“It seemed almost inevitable” that Golsby would have mental-health problems, said Bob Stinson, a forensic psychologist, testifying that both hereditary and behavioral factors were stacked against him.

Using Golsby’s family tree, Stinson noted how most of his relatives had multiple, serious risk factors, including addictions, mental illness, domestic violence and absentee and abusive parenting.

Golsby had 15 risk factors, Stinson said. “Any one of these could be damaging. It’s rare in my experience ... that a single person would experience all 15 of these in a lifetime.”

The prosecution has the burden to show that the aggravating circumstances of the murder — including rape, robbery and kidnapping with a weapon — outweigh mitigating circumstances of Golsby’s past.

There are four options for Golsby’s sentence, ranging Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien, right, shows forensic psychologist Bob Stinson an intake questionnaire regrading Brian Golsby’s personal history during Stinson’s testimony for the defense Monday.

from the death penalty to life in prison with eligibility for parole in 20 years.

Judge Mark Serrott told jurors to bring overnight bags because they will be sequestered if they are unable to reach a verdict in one day.

Jurors took about five hours last week to convict Golsby of the Feb. 8, 2017, crimes. GPS data and his DNA evidence linked him to the crime scenes.

Defense attorneys have focused on sparing him death. They have not asked jurors to sympathize with Golsby but to try to understand his upbringing.

Stinson cited a litany of problems stemming from Golsby’s birth to an unwed, 17-year-old mother who severely beat him, shared illegal drugs with him and had numerous sexual partners.

Court records show that he was abandoned by his father and beaten by Stephanie Golsby, who, Stinson testified, had sadistic tendencies and an IQ of 76 — bordering on intellectually disabled.

Golsby told a psychologist he was raped at age 12 at a

Brian Golsby sits at the defense table during the death-penalty phase of his trial Monday. Closing arguments are expected to wrap up Tuesday.

carryout in his neighborhood, suffered “severe major depressive disorder,” had suicide attempts and began using cocaine in 2016 after serving six years in prison for a robbery and attempted-rape conviction.

“This is about as bad as it gets,” said Stinson. “What I just described is Brian’s life.”

On cross-examination, Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien repeatedly asked Stinson whether he had asked Golsby about the specific crimes.

Stinson said he assumed that Golsby was “guilty as charged.”

“From a psychological standpoint, it didn’t help me if he says he did it for money.”

O’Brien persisted: “Can you tell us what would have been going through his mind when Reagan Tokes asked him to only let her live?”

Stinson said: “No, I cannot tell you what was going through his mind at that moment.”

O’Brien also pointed to numerous contradictions from Golsby about his drug use, being raped and reported head injuries. And the prosecutor asked about the benefits of Golsby getting mental-health assistance if put on death row when he has turned down similar help.

“I would hope that if trauma-informed care is offered, he would want to not go on with his miserable life that he’s had, and hopefully get some help,” said Stinson.

Richard Forney, Grove City’s lead detective on the case, said he hopes Golsby gets the death penalty, if only because Forney has heard that life on death row is worse than in the general prison population.

“It’s painful to hear about the defendant,” he said. “She (Tokes) didn’t have her say.”