CINCINNATI — A guilty plea has been entered on amended charges in connection to an assault outside the Montgomery Inn Boathouse that involved the family of WCPO 9 Chief Meteorologist Steve Raleigh.
Kyle Raleigh pleaded guilty in a Hamilton County courtroom on Wednesday to two misdemeanor assault charges. He had originally been 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. The judge accepted the amended charges in the guilty plea and sentencing was scheduled for January 15.
Kyle is the son of WCPO 9 Chief Meteorologist Steve Raleigh, who was also present at the time of the assault.
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.
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 a black Cadillac Escalade struck the car in the front right coming from the parking lot area.
One person got out of the Escalade, the family said. Troy said while he was arguing with a person who had come from the direction of 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 who jumped on his son was. The Morrow family lawyer, Konrad 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.
Watch Live:
