'One of the scary ones.' Ohio Parole Board rejects parole for man who killed Canton girl

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The Ohio Parole Board has denied parole for a Stark County man who kidnapped, sexually assaulted and murdered 9-year-old Glenna Rose Brammer in southeast Canton in 1987.

The board voted 5-0 on April 11 to keep George Earl Deck, 67, incarcerated for at least 10 more years. His next parole hearing is scheduled for February 2034. He's serving his sentence at the Grafton Correctional Institution.

Then-Stark County Common Pleas Judge Sheila Farmer in 1989 sentenced Deck to 30 years to life in prison for aggravated murder and 10 to 25 years for kidnapping with parole eligibility in 6 1/2 years after he served the minimum 30-year sentence. Deck became eligible for parole this year.

Prosecutors in 1989 sought the death penalty for Deck, but a jury could not reach the required unanimous decision to sentence Deck to death. Two of the 12 jurors would not support the death penalty.

"Incarcerated adult Deck has served almost 37 years for the brutal homicide of a young female victim," the parole board said in its written decision, which was released Friday. "He has taken no cognitive program but has addressed his crimogenic factors with staff in prison. Further, his institutional behavior is much improved. His release plan is undeveloped. The board concluded that the negative aspects of this case outweigh the positive factors in this case. The board determined that additional incarceration is appropriate."

The board found it likely that Deck would reoffend if released or not comply with the conditions of release, and that giving him parole would create an undue risk to public safety.

Glenna Rose Brammer: A pivot point for Canton

Brammer family response to board's decision

Brammer's older sister, Kimberly Elmerick, could not be reached for comment.

But she told Fox 8 in Cleveland that her sister's death "devastated me, still does. I can’t do anything on her birthday, I can’t do anything on the [anniversary] of the day she died.”

The group Block Parole heard about the case and set up an online petition to object to Deck's release.

It's not clear who represented Deck before the Parole Board. Documents submitted to the board arguing for or against parole or clemency are not public records in Ohio, a board spokeswoman said.

A message was left with the Ohio Public Defenders office, which frequently represents inmates before the Parole Board.

Bradley Iams, who was Deck's attorney in his 1989 trial and the death penalty phase, in a text message declined to comment Friday on the board's decision. But he said he took no part in making any arguments to the Parole Board on Deck's behalf.

Richard Reinbold was the assistant Stark County prosecutor who led the prosecution against Deck in 1989. Reinbold is a retired Stark County common pleas judge and currently the Democratic nominee for Stark County prosecutor.

Reinbold said he agreed with the Parole Board's decision. He called Deck "one of the scary ones."

"He should be incarcerated in maybe one of the state hospitals. But he should not be let out," said Reinbold, who vividly remembers the case, despite the passage of nearly 35 years. "It was a terrible crime he committed. I don't think he has the mental capacity to understand what he did. ... I'm afraid if he was released, he would commit the same crime."

Deck, who was homeless when arrested, apparently has no family members he could live with if he were released. And it's not clear where he could live.

What happened to Glenna Rose Brammer?

Late on a Friday evening in July 1987, Roberta Brammer of Seventh Street NW reported to police that her daughter, Glenna, had gone missing just days after celebrating her ninth birthday. Glenna was a member of Brownie Troop 555 and was set to enter the third grade at Summit School the following September.

The employee at a store near the park at Sixth Street and High Avenue NW where Glenna played kickball and other games with her friends told police that he had seen her with a man at 7 p.m.

Roberta Brammer said Deck had been seen around the park where her daughter played. Deck had won her trust by buying her pop and candy.

By Sunday, two days after Glenna failed to return home, police had arrested Deck, then 31, who confessed to sexually assaulting and stomping the girl to death. Deck led investigators to a wooded area in southeast Canton. There, they found Glenna's body buried in a shallow grave in the woods in southeastern Canton near Fourth Street and Madison Court SE.

Then-Stark County Coroner James Pritchard said that she had been beaten with a blunt instrument that police said was a club, her chest was crushed, her skull was fractured and she was strangled. And a pathologist found evidence of genital injuries.

Prosecutors sought the death penalty for Deck.

The trial was delayed because Judge Sheila Farmer in January 1988 found Deck mentally incompetent to stand trial. After he spent more than a year at a facility in Columbus, she found in February 1989 that he had regained competency, understood the nature of the charges against him and could assist in his own defense.

The trial began in July 1989.

Reinbold presented to the jury a recording by police of Deck confessing that he brutally sexually assaulted and beat Glenna to death.

"I just didn't know what I was doing," Deck told investigators, referring to mistreatment by his mother and her boyfriend. "I been shoved around so much. ... I just went out of my mind."

After a trial of more than a week and more than six hours of deliberation, the jury found Deck guilty of aggravated murder and kidnapping.

Deck grew up in foster care, later became an alcoholic

Iams in the death penalty phase called witnesses who testified that Deck, who had a developmental disability, grew up in a home without heating or lighting and with animal droppings in the early 1960s.

His mother was addicted to alcohol and exchanged sex for beer and money. His mother and stepfather were charged with parental neglect. Deck lived in three foster homes as a child.

Iams and witnesses said that Deck was subjected to sexual abuse by older boys at an orphanage near Alliance, his mother and stepfather. When his mother lost custody of him, Deck spent years at the Apple Creek State Institute. He frequently ran away to go back to his mother.

By 1987, Deck was homeless and an alcoholic himself. His mother's boyfriend had kicked him out of his mother's home, which a psychologist said triggered his rage at being cut off from his mother.

Another psychologist testified that Deck had suffered from significant brain damage and years of alcohol abuse.

Reach Robert at robret.wang@cantonrep.com. X formerly Twitter: @rwangREP.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: George Earl Deck denied parole for killing Glenna Rose Brammer