State v. McWay, 2018 Ohio 3618

Ross McWay was tried and convicted of aggravated murder for the January 2017 strangulation death of his girlfriend, Wendy Jeffers; he was sentenced after a jury trial and appealed.
Three jailhouse inmates (Smith, Lehman, Bradford) testified they heard McWay, while jailed in January 2017, say he would "choke her out" and wear a sleeve to avoid leaving DNA.
McWay gave a custodial statement claiming the death was an accident during a physical struggle; he admitted putting his hands around her throat but denied intent to kill.
Autopsy showed death by lateral compression (strangulation), a fractured hyoid, and water in the sphenoid sinus, consistent with near‑death submersion—findings that undercut McWay’s account.
Defense moved for a mistrial after an ambiguous witness comment that arguably referenced a prior "body"/prior case; the court gave a curative instruction and denied the mistrial.
On appeal McWay challenged (1) denial of the mistrial, (2) manifest weight of the evidence as to purpose and prior calculation, and (3) ineffective assistance of counsel at sentencing (no new PSI, no mitigation presented).

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (State)	Defendant's Argument (McWay)	Held
Denial of mistrial after witness’s ambiguous statement	The brief, ambiguous statement was inadvertent and the court’s curative instruction cured any prejudice	The statement referenced a prior conviction/"body" and was prejudicial; mistrial required	Denial affirmed: trial court did not abuse discretion; curative instruction sufficient
Manifest weight of the evidence on aggravated murder (purpose & prior calculation)	Jury could credit jailhouse witnesses and physical/autopsy evidence showing intentional strangulation and staging	Conviction rests mainly on three inmate witnesses; McWay’s statement described an accidental death	Affirmed: record supports conviction; jury credibility determinations reasonable; no manifest miscarriage of justice
Adequacy of counsel for not requesting new PSI	Counsel explained court already had a PSI from a 2002 conviction and long knowledge of client; strategic choice	Failure to obtain a new PSI was unreasonable and prejudicial at sentencing	Affirmed: counsel’s decision reasonable under the circumstances; not deficient performance
Failure to present mitigating evidence at sentencing	Presentation of mitigation is trial strategy; no record proof mitigating evidence existed or that counsel failed to investigate	Counsel failed to investigate and thus deprived McWay of mitigation	Affirmed: tactical choice; no record showing inadequate investigation or existence of mitigating evidence

State v. Drummond, 111 Ohio St.3d 14 (establishing mistrial and prosecutorial error standards)
State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380 (appellate manifest‑weight review as thirteenth juror)
State v. Walker, 150 Ohio St.3d 409 (analysis of "prior calculation and design")
State v. Taylor, 78 Ohio St.3d 15 (factors for prior calculation and design)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (ineffective assistance two‑prong standard)
Wiggins v. Smith, 539 U.S. 510 (strategic choices after adequate investigation are virtually unchallengeable)
State v. Hand, 107 Ohio St.3d 378 (mitigating evidence is a matter of trial strategy)