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Staff Report
PARKERSBURG -- Two teenagers who pleaded guilty to killing a former Parkersburg woman last year at a state park in Ohio are scheduled for final sentencing next week in a juvenile court.
Victoria Schaffer, 44, a photographer from Chillicothe, was killed Sept. 2, 2019, when a log weighing about 75 pounds fell on top of her at Hocking Hills State Park in Logan. The Parkersburg High School graduate was pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities several days later charged Jaden Churchheus and Jordan Buckley, both now 17, who were high school students in Hocking County, with pushing the log over the cliff.
Churcheus and Buckley last month pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in Hocking County Common Pleas Court. Charges of murder and reckless homicide were dismissed.
Judge John T. Wallace sentenced them to a minimum of three years in prison with a maximum of four and a half years, with credit for time already served. Churchheus and Buckley waived pre-sentencing investigations.
A final sentencing hearing will be held Oct. 16 in juvenile court with Buckley scheduled at 10:30 a.m. and Churchheus at 1 p.m.
Schafer was a photographer in Chillicothe. She was taking pictures with high school students near Old Man's Cave when she was killed, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources said.
The log fell about 75 feet onto a stairway where she was sitting, according to Jorden Meadows, an assistant Hocking County prosecutor.
A tip from the mother of a classmate led investigators to Churchheus and Buckley. The tip said one of the suspects sent a text message that said he and another person did something serious at the park.
The investigation was led by the Department of Natural Resources.
Schafer is survived by her husband, four children, parents and a sister.