Both men pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated murder, kidnapping, tampering with evidence, gross abuse of a corpse and possession of criminal tools and agreed to the life sentences in exchange for avoiding the death penalty.
During Sellers’ sentencing hearing on Aug. 13, Spinks’ family said they agreed not to pursue the death penalty against her killers because the 20-year-old Miamisburg High School grad would not have wanted that.
Sellers and Shaffer killed Spinks on Sept. 24, 2011 by stabbing her, then dragging her body onto railroad tracks where it was severed by trains.
Assistant Montgomery County prosecutor David Franceschelli called the case, ""The most barbaric aggravated murder case I've prosecuted."
Prosecutor Mat Heck Jr. called the murder, “heinous, calculating and malicious.” He said, “These defendants intentionally and callously murdered Ms. Spinks without any provocation or excuse.”
Shaffer and Sellers were indicted Oct. 5, 2011 and have been detained in the Montgomery County Jail on $1 million bonds since then.
Sellers was transferred to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction Reception Center in Orient on Aug. 15. Shaffer will be sent there prior to being assigned to a prison.
About the Author