CINCINNATI — A Hamilton County grand jury has indicted Kyle Raleigh in connection to a June assault outside the Montgomery Inn boathouse.
Raleigh is charged with one count of felonious assault, a felony of the second degree, and two counts of aggravated assault, a felony of the fourth degree, according to a grand jury report released Thursday afternoon.
Kyle is the son of WCPO 9 Chief Meteorologist Steve Raleigh, who was also present at the time of the assault.
The assault charges come after officers were called to the scene of a fight following a motor vehicle accident and heated argument in the parking lot of the Riverside Drive restaurant on June 22 just after 9 p.m. Doug Morrow, 79, Lois Morrow, 76, and Troy Morrow, 40, were all hurt.
According to court documents, Kyle Raleigh was "under the influence of sudden passion or in a sudden fit of rage" when he used "deadly force" in the assault of Lois and Douglas Morrow.
Troy Morrow was also indicted in connection to the incident. Troy Morrow is charged with one count of menacing, a fourth-degree misdemeanor, for causing "Steve Raleigh to believe that the defendant would cause physical harm" to him.
The police report of the incident was heavily redacted, with no specifics about the nature of the injuries, but family of the victims say Doug Morrow was knocked unconscious and suffered a concussion, and Lois Morrow was hospitalized with a concussion, fractured skull, brain bleed, a cut that required staples in the back of her head and a lens detached from her eye.
"Suspect approached victim #1 striking him with a closed fist in the head knocking him to the ground," causing injuries, the police report of the incident reads. "Victim #2 and victim #3 while attempting to aid victim #1 was struck and shoved to the ground by the suspect."
The daughter of the injured couple posted video of the incident to Facebook. Arguing can be heard off-camera, followed by an escalation of shouting and what appears to be physical contact between multiple people, but it does not show any clear-cut assault. After the scuffle, the video shows Doug and Lois Morrow on the ground. The woman is seen bleeding from her head.
You can watch the full video here:
Clermont County Prosecutor Mark Tekulve previously announced that no charges will be filed against Steve Raleigh.
"During the course of this investigation, it has been determined that criminal charges are not warranted against Mr. Steve Raleigh, as there is no evidence that he violated any criminal law," Tekulve said in a press release. "Accordingly, as to Mr. Steve Raleigh, this investigation is closed."
Tekulve was appointed a special prosecutor to handle the investigation after Hamilton County Prosecutor Melissa Powers cited a "conflict of interest" in overseeing the case.
The Morrow family said the assault stemmed from a car accident in the parking lot when Doug was driving with Lois in the passenger seat of their 2005 Ford F-150. They were picking up their son, Troy, from Montgomery Inn where Troy worked. They picked him up from the entrance to the restaurant and began to pull back out of the 180-degree driveway to get back to the road when they said the car was struck by a black Cadillac Escalade in the front right coming from the parking lot area.
One person got out of the Escalade, the family said.
Troy said an argument ensued with someone else who came from the direction of the restaurant, insisting that police not be called and that they just exchange insurance. Kircher said just 2 months before, Doug had been burned after agreeing to just exchange insurance and not call the police and that ended up in him paying for damages to his car.
Doug also suspected the person driving was drinking, and wanted to call police, his daughter said in a Facebook post. The police incident report also listed the suspect as possibly being under the influence of alcohol.
Troy said while he was arguing with the person who had come from the restaurant, he recalled hearing "No one's gonna hit my dad" before he said he was "clocked" in the head. He said the person then jumped on top of him and choked him. Doug said upon seeing this, he tried to get that person off of Troy, hitting him. Doug said he didn't know who the person was who jumped on his son. Kircher said the person on top of Troy either punched or pushed him away so hard that he fell back to the pavement, semi-conscious.
Lois said upon seeing the commotion, she "tapped someone on the shoulder," asking for help not knowing who it was, and then "saw that arm come around and punch me." She was knocked to the ground, bleeding from her head and vomiting because of the concussion, Kircher said. Lois woke up in the hospital two days later, not remembering a thing, but said she was "scared to death" seeing all the blood. She was in the hospital for four days in total, she said.
"I don’t know what reason that guy had to hit me like that," Lois said holding back tears. "All I did was ask for help. I didn’t say no bad names to him”
Merlyn Shiverdecker, the Raleigh family attorney, released the following statement:
"We are disappointed with the grand jury's findings in reference to Kyle. It should be remembered that these are only allegations and Kyle is presumed innocent. The grand jury did accuse Troy Morrow of being the instigator of the incident. We intend to vigorously defend these accusations in court and not in the media."
The Morrow family attorney, Konrad Kircher, also released a statement:
"We've been waiting several months for the process to play out. We have respected that process and that respect has been justified. We're very satisfied with the three felony charges against Kyle. We believe those are appropriate and supported by the overwhelming evidence. As for the charge against Troy, that is one baby step above a traffic ticket. We do not believe it's justified, but we welcome it and are happy to tell that story."
Raleigh was issued an own recognizance bond and is due back in court on October 16.
