Trial for Isabella murder suspect postponed
Defense cites need for more time to prepare
A trial that was set to begin in July for a Saginaw man accused of murdering an Isabella County woman has been postponed.
Assistant United States Attorney Roy Kranz and Johnathan Ashford’s defense attorneys, David Koelzer and Elizabeth Young, agreed to an adjournment to allow the defense time to prepare because of the labor-intensive nature of the case.
United States District Judge Thomas L. Ludington of the Eastern District of Michigan on Friday adjourned the trial to Jan. 9, 2024, after Koelzer and Young described in an April 24 video status conference the “extensive mitigation efforts — including interviews, records and expert consultations — that are necessary to effectively represent (Ashford).”
A number of other discovery and legal issues need to be addressed as well, the attorneys said.
Ashford, 37, is accused of the Nov. 4 slaying of Rosanna Marie Romero, 33, at her Ivy Lane home in Mt. Pleasant
A federal grand jury in Bay City originally indicted Ashford for second-degree murder and a host of other crimes in connection with the shooting death of Romero but a superseding indictment filed in February charged him with firstdegree murder, using a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence, using a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence causing death, first-degree child abuse, assault with intent to murder, felon in possession of a firearm, fail to register as a sex offender, two counts of domestic assault by a habitual offender, and three counts of committing a crime of violence without registering as a sex offender, according to court records.
Kranz filed notice April 26 that he would not
seek the death penalty, which prosecutors can do for federal capital offenses if they think the crime justifies the punishment, but U.S. Department of Justice policy dictates that any such case be reviewed by the local U.S. attorney, who submits recommendations to the U.S. Attorney General Review Committee, according to an order filed Jan. 30 by Ludington.
Even with the death penalty off the table, Ludington granted the six-month trial adjournment because the circumstances require a significant extension of the dates that had been set.
Ashford is being tried in federal court in Bay City because Romero, who also went by the surnames Keshick and Martin, was a member of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe and lived within the boundaries of the Isabella Reservation.
A string of events that began in the early morning hours Nov. 4 with two small children being dropped off at a Mt. Pleasant hospital — one with stab wounds — ended with police finding Romero’s body in her home.
Police issued an appeal to the public that day to find the parents of the children as medical staff stabilized the baby who had been stabbed to be flown to a Grand Rapids hospital for further treatment and surgery, according to previous accounts.
Tips led officers to the Broadway Crossings, a manufactured home community east of Isabella Road in Union Township.
Later the same day, police learned that relatives of Romero were unable to reach her for hours.
Officers broke into the home and found Romero, dead from a gunshot wound to the head.
Both of the children are Romero’s, and the older child was uninjured.
While Ashford maintained a Saginaw address on the Michigan Sex Offender Registry, police believe he was living with Romero.
Ashford, who was convicted of second-degree criminal sexual conduct in 2005 in Saginaw County, told Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Police that he shot Romero with a 9 mm pistol because he thought she was cheating on him, according to court records.