Johnny Clarke & Lisa Straub killed in Ohio true crime double murder 2011 pt. 2: Who was convicted?

When investigating the true crime murder of Johnny Clarke and Lisa Straub, 11
Investigates looked at the case against of Sam Williams.

Sam Williams describes Sept. 22, 2011, as a "mope-around day."
He slept in late, invited some friends over to play video games and ran out of cigarettes. Cigarettes were always in short supply for the three-pack-a-day smoker.

His brother agreed to buy him a pack if Williams agreed to go to the store with him.
As Williams crossed the street to get into his car, his world exploded.

"All these marked cars came rolling up. The U.S. Marshals and the detectives had pulled their guns on me and laid me down to arrest me," he says.
"I had a warrant for one of my domestic violence cases that I was on probation for. I'm like, 'I've got 30 days in jail. I don't want to do the probation,'" he says. "As the U.S. Marshal was putting handcuffs on me, I said, 'You really come and get people for misdemeanor domestic violence cases?'"

Later at the sheriff's department, he complained to Detective Jeff Kozak about the rough treatment: "If you would have sent me something in the mail, I would have come down. You didn't have to humiliate me like that."

At that point, he knew it was bigger than the misdemeanor warrant. He shifted his thinking to defending himself against a promoting prostitution case that he was involved in with his girlfriend.

Eleven minutes into his interview with detectives, they dropped pictures of Johnny Clarke and Lisa Straub on the table in front of Williams. The detectives were not interested in domestic violence, drugs, or prostitution. But they were very interested in what happened on the night of Jan. 30, 2011 inside a Holland home on Longacre Avenue.

What Williams did not know was that detectives had recently received a hit on a cigarette found at a double homicide inside the home of Jeff and Mary Beth Straub. DNA on that cigarette was from Williams and close friend Cameo Pettaway.

In the crime case, the cigarette was found near the service door leading into the garage from the home. In the nearby kitchen were the bodies of 21-year-old Johnny Clarke and his girlfriend, 20-year-old Lisa Straub. Clarke's hands and feet were bound by duct tape. Duct tape was wrapped around his neck, securing a plastic bag. His sweatshirt was pulled up and a wallet was found on his stomach. Straub's hands were bound by tape, and a bag was also secured over her head with tape.

By the time police arrived, the bags had been ripped open by Johnny's father, John, who had kicked in the front door and found the couple.

Deputy Frank Reidy was the first officer who responded to the scene, and he noticed the cigarette in the corner. He commented that it was odd that there was no smell of smoke in the home.

MORE: https://www.wtol.com/article/news/inv...



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