ASHLAND — The capital case involving an Ashland man accused of killing his son-in-law will not go to trial thanks to a plea bargain.
A judgement entry filed Monday in Ashland County Court of Common Pleas shows that Howard Walters, 60, “wishes to change his plea.”
Walters faces the death penalty stemming from a number of charges related to Harstine’s 2023 death, including aggravated murder.
He is scheduled to appear before visiting judge Janet Burnside to change his plea and be sentenced on Feb. 11.
It’s unclear what Walters’ new charges will be once the plea is officially changed.
Walters’ attorney, James Mayer III, was not immediately available to comment and Ashland County Prosecutor Chris Tunnell declined to comment on Walters’ plea change.
Tunnell has said in previous reporting the evidence would show that Walters shot Harstine, took his pickup truck and cell phone and destroyed evidence.
The plea change comes two years following Harstine’s death. The 41 year-old was found shot to death in his former home on Jan. 27, 2023. Harstine had filed for divorce from his wife, Walters’ daughter, in May 2022.
First capital case since 2018
Walters’ case would have been Ashland County’s first capital case since 2018, when Shawn Grate was sentenced to death and a minimum of 90 years to life in prison for the slayings of Stacey Stanley and Elizabeth Griffith.
The Grate case cost Ashland County just north of $115,000 because Grate was determined to be indigent.
Walters’ also filed for indigency, ultimately losing that months-long battle.
Before the charges, Walters worked at Ashland University, from 2001 to 2021. Until May 2023, he worked for North Central State College as an academic administrator, earning $100,000 a year.
But he also owned an LLC that operated eight rental properties in Ashland. Court records list the LLC’s total assessed value of just under $710,000 — all of which went to Walters’ wife following a divorce settlement.
The wife received the marital residence, all eight rental properties, the LLC bank account and an equal share of Walters’ retirement assets.
Ultimately, Burnside ruled Walters is not indigent. Hearings on that matter wrapped up in September and attorneys have been preparing for the April trial ever since.
Walters has been housed at the Ashland County Jail since July 2023.