CINCINNATI — The trial has begun for a series of alleged murder-for-hire plots from the winter of 2021. Carl Godfrey is facing multiple charges for the shooting deaths of four people.
During opening statements, prosecutors said the driving force behind Godfrey ordering people to commit murder was money and attention. They painted a picture of two people who used to be friends, but one got greedy and wanted the other person dead. However, prosecutors say it didn't end there.
"Mr Godfrey thought of himself as a hitman, he even nicknamed himself 'John Wick' after a popular movie series where the main character is a hitman of the criminal underworld," said Allison Oswall, assistant Hamilton County prosecuting attorney.
Oswall described Godfrey as someone who glamorized murder, and someone who wanted to be the center of attention.
"But Mr. Godfrey got sloppy, and emotional, which led to him getting caught," Oswall said.
Prosecutors said Godfrey hired three people to kill Aaron Whitfield on Feb. 16, 2021, near Felicity Court and Montana in Westwood. Body camera footage shows Whitfield wounded, but surviving the shooting, as well as Maliaya Freeman. Deontay Otis was one of the people who died in the shooting.
"There's going to be a cell phone which basically amounts to Carl Godfrey's diary, his thoughts his feelings his plans and crimes are all cataloged in this phone," said Oswall.
Brian Goldberg, Godfrey's defense lawyer, said "he's not this monster that Miss Oswall has made him out to be."
Goldberg didn't dispute the murder of Otis, or Donnell Steele on Feb. 18, 2021, in Millvale. During Goldberg's opening statements, he claimed the prosecution's case is all based on speculation and assumptions. Goldberg said Godfrey denies being at both scenes and pulling the trigger.
"There will not be a single witness that will get up on that witness stand to tell you they saw Carl there," Goldberg said. "There will be no DNA evidence that links him to the scene on February 18th, and there will be no fingerprint evidence to link him to the scene."
When prosecutors showed Cincinnati police body camera footage of the Feb. 16 shooting, most of the time Godfrey looked in the other direction. His defense claims any text messages or social media messages the prosecution brings up as evidence are just him saying things that aren't true.
"A lot of times people say things they don't always mean, especially young people, they love to text, they love to take videos," Goldberg said. "They like to talk and like to make themselves appear bigger than they really are."
Prosecutors pointed to messages they obtained from Godfrey that links him to the killing of Steele.
"Godfrey did not care about who or what was in his way, as rounds hit those buildings where children play and families were trying to go about their evening. Donnell Steele was standing in the middle of the street near his car when the bullets hit him directly in the head," Oswall said. "He fell face first to the ground a fact that someone would only know if they were there when it happened a fact that Godfrey was bragging about on his cell phone moments after Mr. Steele was murdered."
Oswall told WCPO during a recess that on Wednesday the state is expected to call a co-defendant of Godfrey's to testify against him.
While she did not specify who it is, Goldberg mentioned Mario Gordon during opening statements as someone who was "a career snitch" and a "liar." Goldberg added he isn't trying to do the right thing, he's only trying to get a better deal from prosecutors.
