By Gary Ogle
gogle@wbcowqel.com
A complicated and difficult case was concluded in Crawford County Common Pleas Court on Friday morning. But the results are devastating to a Galion family: an elderly dementia patient is dead, the victim’s son is serving 20 years in prison, his wife is serving 59 months, and the couple’s five young children – including newborn twins – have been displaced and are living with relatives.
Thirty-seven-year-old Marla Saunders pleaded guilty to obstruction and tampering with evidence in the death of Frederick Saunders Sr. in September of 2015. In exchange for her plea, the more severe charges of complicity and kidnapping were dropped.
“It’s been a difficult situation when you have families who are living together, three generations of a family living under one roof. Many people can understand the difficulties that go along in those situations and when people are trying to do the best they can in difficult situations. That was part of what was taken into consideration,” said County Prosecutor Matthew Crall. “The person sentenced today was not the primary actor involved in this. That was her husband who has already been sentenced to 20 years in prison. We feel her sentence here today adequately punishes her for her actions and that justice has been found in this case.”
Marla Saunders was sentenced to the maximum 36 months in prison on the charge of obstruction and 23 months for tampering with evidence. Her prison sentences are to run consecutively for a total of 59 months. She will get credit for time spent in the county jail.
Saunders Sr. was taken to the emergency room of Galion Community Hospital on the night 
of Sept. 30. After being pronounced deceased, he was taken to a funeral home where and the body nearly cremated. Police were alerted to a suspicious death by Frederick Saunders Jr.’s sister-in-law and Marla Saunders’ twin sister, Carla Willoughby, who pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence and obstructing justice.
Willoughby has yet to be sentenced, although her plea arrangement with the Prosecutor’s Office called for a recommended sentence of five-years on community control with the stipulation that Willoughby provide testimony if the cases against her sister and brother-in-law went to trial. She will also be fined $1,000.
Saunders Jr. previously pleaded guilty to an amended charge of voluntary manslaughter and kidnapping, both first-degree felonies. Each count came with a 10-year prison sentence to be served consecutively for a total of 20 years in prison.
The case from the outset was contentious between the Prosecutor’s Office and attorney Adam Stone who served as legal counsel for both Frederick Saunders Jr. and Marla Saunders.
Marla Saunders was pregnant with twins at the time of her arrest last fall and released for a short time with monitoring ankle bracelets because of her high-risk pregnancy. She was returned to jail after the birth of the twins
Stone said Marla Saunders came to court on Friday ready to accept responsibility for her role.
“Ultimately she took steps to protect her husband. Understand this young lady beside me has held her newborn twins twice,” Stone said during the sentencing phase of Friday’s hearing. “We define ourselves, not by our mistakes, but by our willingness to accept responsibility for those mistakes.”
Judge Sean Leuthold was not without some empathy for the Saunders’ family, but concluded that the actions that followed made a tragic situation worse.
“I think the picture becomes clear as to what happened,” Leuthold said, noting the stress of multiple generations living together and the senior member suffering from dementia. “The son, basically in a fit of rage and frustration, struck and killed his father. If everyone had simply been honest at that time, the sentence would probably have been different. That didn’t happen. Instead, it became a tremendous effort to cover up what had happened.”
Crall cited the work of law enforcement agencies who cooperated.
“First of all I’d like to thank the Galion Police Department, particularly the detective bureau, for their outstanding work on this case. They were also assisted by the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office, Detective Heydinger and Detective Moser assisted,” Crall said. “In a case this big we all work together to make sure that justice is done.”
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