State v. Tannreuther, 2014 Ohio 74

Victim (mother of some of appellant’s children) held a valid protection order against James Tannreuther; police responded after a domestic violence report.
Victim showed visible injuries: severe neck bruising/redness, red spots on face, blood on shirt, torn panties, and urine/feces on bedding; hospital exam confirmed anal and vaginal intercourse and left-eye hemorrhage from strangulation.
Victim reported Tannreuther strangled her with a cellphone-charger cord, released her, then fled; she believed the rape occurred before the strangulation.
Tannreuther admitted to consensual vaginal intercourse but later suggested he might have “blacked out” and could have committed the acts; he did not dispute the state’s factual recitation at plea.
Indicted on multiple counts; pleaded guilty to felonious assault (R.C. 2903.11(A)(1)), rape (R.C. 2907.02(A)(2)), violation of protection order, domestic violence, and petty theft; other counts were nolled.
At sentencing the court merged some counts but refused to merge the rape and felonious assault convictions; Tannreuther appealed only the denial of merger under R.C. 2941.25.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether rape and felonious assault are allied offenses of similar import under R.C. 2941.25 and must merge	State argued offenses arose from distinct acts/animus — rape (forced sexual intercourse) and assault (strangulation/dragging) — so convictions may stand separately	Tannreuther argued the force used to commit rape was the strangulation, so both offenses were committed by the same conduct/animus and must merge	Court held offenses did not merge: evidence showed rape occurred before and separate from the strangulation, so they were committed by separate acts with separate animus; affirmed sentence

State v. Johnson, 128 Ohio St.3d 153 (establishes two-part test for allied-offenses analysis under R.C. 2941.25)
State v. Williams, 134 Ohio St.3d 482 (applies de novo review to trial court merger determinations)