Murder With My Husband - 160. Daniel Ott - The Murder of Daniel Ott

Episode Date: April 17, 2023

On this episode of MWMH, Payton and Garrett discuss the 2006 murder of Daniel Ott and the unusual way police were able to catch his killers. Links: https://linktr.ee/murderwithmyhusband Case Sources: The Morning Journal, NBCNews.com, CBSNews.com, Cleveland.com, TheCinemaholic, Clevelandscene.com, Clevescene.com, Mylifeofcrimes.wordpress.com, WCBE News, Riddle Funeral Home, Google maps, Redfin.com, the New York Post, the Orlando Sentinel, dailymail.co.uk, Law & Crime, and a special acknowledgment to the Geauga County Maple Leaf who covered this case in great depth in many excellent articles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey everybody welcome back to our podcast. This is murder with my husband. I'm Peyton Moreland. And I'm Garrett Moreland. And he's the husband. And I'm husband. You know yesterday I had to record a bonus episode for our Apple subscribers and our Patreon members and Garrett wasn't in it because if you're watching on YouTube you can probably see that Garrett has injured his foot. So let's just go right into 10 seconds so you can talk about it because I know that's what it's gonna be. You know it's been sucks. In 10 seconds so you can talk about it because I know that's what it's gonna be You know it's been sucks

Indering yourself sucks and then it also makes me realize it could have been way worse Why don't you tell everyone how it happened so I was wait Everyone think of your guess right now. Okay, no, okay, thank you for your guess All right, so I was I was climbing the other day What I don't understand was so funny. So I was making hello fresh. That was I was climbing my Everest is the craziest thing that's ever happened as fell No, I wasn't climbing I was playing pickleball

And I love pickleball because I don't get hurt Imagine that. Imagine that. And I love Pickleball because I don't get hurt. Like that's the point of it. It's really fun, obviously. But the point of it as well is, I'm not gonna get hurt. I'm not gonna hurt myself. Didn't matter.

It's playing Pickleball. Thanks for going good. As the first time I had played in like a week, just because we'd been working. We were traveling back and forth with your family, just doing a bunch of stuff. And I was playing with some friends. We were probably 15, 20 minutes into it.

And there was a ball on the right side, and I hit it, and there was like a little wet, there's a little like wet spot on the court. And I slipped on it, and as I slipped on it, my foot went where it's not supposed to go. I don't know what just it bended in it tweaked. I heard a little pop fell on the ground and That was it right away too like right when I did it. I knew oh Yeah, I just broke my foot. I fractured something and so we're to the hospital

Wait now tell them tell them from your point of view the next part. Oh Yes, because this is for it. So that happened and I couldn't walk. Like I still- It fell to the ground. I can put no pressure on my foot. I still can't put any pressure. It's probably gonna be another week or two

before I can put any pressure. But I fell to the ground. I got up, hobbled over. One of my friends, shout out to Hunter, helped me to like the main part of the word. I pick about courts are, I sat down and I was like I can't you call my wife. I need someone to pick me up. I can't drive home I need go to the yard need to get extra. I just see what's going on

So I got out my phone call my wife once nothing call her again nothing Call her again nothing texted her nothing texted her again nothing all caps and I was like hey, I I'm stuck. I need you to go get me my foot hurts really bad. It's big as a balloon right now like I Is hurts? Can you come get me nothing? 20 minutes 20 minutes nothing so I've hung I said all right since I cannot count on my wife I'm gonna have to call one of my other friends Nate and I called him and he right away dropped everything friends Nate and I called him and he right away dropped everything. I got some good friends. Dropped everything, came over, Hunter helped me outside, he picked me up, we went to the ER, it was urging, it was ER, ER, ER. And then there comes Peyton, finally after, I don't

know, like 40 minutes, she goes, oh, what's going on? I don't know what's happening. My phone's broken. So what do you mean your phone's broken? She's like, I don't know like 40 minutes. She goes, oh, what's going on? I don't know what's happening. My phone's broken. So what do you mean your phone's broken? She's like, I don't know my phone's just broken. I can't call anyone. I can't text anyone. Was it broken? Yes. Garrett still doesn't believe her. I don't believe her. Well, here's my point of view. I'm just sitting down chilling with Daisy. I like out of the corner of my eye see my phone flash. It like goes light and then dark again, and I was like, what the freak? So I reach over and I try clicking the screen

and I see 20 missed calls from Garrett, 20 text messages, and I'm like, but my phone hasn't dinged, it hasn't lit up, it hasn't vibrated. So I grab it to try to open the screen and it won't unlock. And I'm like, he's messaging and calling me so many times. So I go to my computer, I start texting you from there. And I'm

freaking out because you're like, oh my gosh, my phone's broken. I'm going to the emergency room. And it's been 30 minutes since you first texted me. And so I feel like an awful person. I'm like, I've just been sitting here doing nothing. And my husband is in a dire situation needs me. But I still can't get my phone to call or anything so then get out of semi directions on how to restart my phone. And it finally worked. Finally worked. Anyways we ended up there. People were awesome at the ER, I took all the x-rays, got everything done, shouted again to all my friends who helped me and now I'm back home and no surgery

or anything but it's going to be a little bit of surgery or anything, but I just it's gonna be a It's gonna be a little bit of long road. Yeah, I just can't put pressure on it yet. Got a scooter today I think it'll probably be like probably a week and a half or so two weeks and I can start putting some light pressure It's all black and blue. Yeah, I just all black and blue. I'm sorry for everyone on YouTube I have it wrapped right now, but you can see my little toe dogs hanging out here And they're not going nowhere. Sorry, by the way, this is a long 10 seconds, but it's so important And Daisy's so scared of your scooter. Oh, she's and my crutches too. Yeah, she hates both them But she's getting she's getting better. She's tried to pounce on the foot a couple times

Worst part like I'm just sitting here. Can't do much, no pickleball. Can't really walk. Can't really walk. I had to bathe him, I had to change his diaper. Yeah, basically. But hopefully, No, but it does, shout out to couples who do that every day. Well, just in all so many realized,

like it could be so much worse. Like just so much worse. So I'm grateful it'll be a little bit of road ahead of me, but gonna take care of myself, do some good treatment, do what I need to do, and hopefully get back good to go and in a couple of few months. So that is Garrett's story of how he hurt himself,

and I am on crutches. Also a quick shout out, I've had some extra time, so I've been re reading emails and messages and stuff like that. And he's shout out to Cameron for listening to our podcast. He's also going through way more difficult times than I am. It is nothing compared to what's going on with me. I know there's a lot of people out there

that are struggling with some things. Cameron's been listening to our podcast for a while. He has MS diabetes and is now temporarily blind which they are hoping doesn't last too much longer. So I happened to come across that email. And so I just wanted to give a little shout out. And again, to anyone else going through difficult times. We love you guys.

Yeah, and we're all in this journey together. And I hope that this hour that you get to listen to our stories really just let's you escape for a minute like it is for us. Alright, our case sources are the Morning Journal NBCNews.com, CBSNews.com, Cleveland.com, the cinema hallick, Clevelandseeing.com, WCBE News, Riddle Funeral Home, My Life of Crimes.wordpress.com, and a special acknowledgement to the Geega County Maple Leaf who covered this case in great depth in many excellent articles. So this week our case takes us to the Midwest to Northern Ohio up in the outskirts of Cleveland. This is the story of Daniel Edward Aught who was born on April 17, 1975 to Linda Jacob

Aught and Lee Roy Aught in Amherst, Ohio. And Daniel has a sister named Kimberly, and he grows up and lives in Vermilion, Ohio a little over 40 miles west of Cleveland for most of his life. He attends St. Mary's Elementary School and is a member of the Catholic Church. He also attends Vermilion High School where he graduates in 1993. Daniel becomes involved in and studies horticulture upon graduating high school. He educates himself, takes courses, and attends seminars on horticulture, which is the science and business of growing and cultivating plants. Daniel is known for having a remarkable ability to being able to get flowers to grow, and for being able to find customers and for maintaining good relationships with all of his employers.

He's a valuable asset to whomever he works for and Daniel ends up working at Green Circle Growers for 10 years once he's an adult. He also works as a grower at Eagle Creek Garden Center in Bainbridge, Ohio. He then moves to Burton for a new job where he's working as the head-grower and manager for Urban Growers in Burnt, Ohio. Now by 2006, Aught lives with his girlfriend, Mary Ann Ricker, in Burton Township, Ohio. They moved there three years previous for his job, and they are just about to move to Michigan so that Daniel can pursue higher earnings as a greenhouse manager. His entire career spanning 13 years so far, he has been working in horticulture,

and I think it's pretty obvious that he enjoys it. Daniel's girlfriend, Mariana, is 35 years old, about four years older than Daniel, and some reports say that Mariana is actually his fiance, but most say girlfriend, so I'm going to stick with that. In any event, they are partners living together and they're about to relocate to Michigan. Daniel has accepted the job, their furniture is already moved up to Michigan, and they're just staying in Burton in a basically empty house for a few days to finish things up there. Now, the place they're living for only another day or two is in Burton Township, Ohio, and it's a very quiet small town in Northeast, Ohio. It's kind of described as a village. Actually, the population of Burton is only

between 1,000 to 2,000 people. Daniel and Marianne are living in a rental home. They're living rent-free right next door to the Urban Growers greenhouse as a perk of Daniel's job, which I mean, you got to. Yeah. That's kind of cool. I'll take it. It's a fairly isolated house situated on five acres with a lake out behind it. So basically my dream home. And the acreage separates their place from their closest neighbors with the greenhouse on one side of them.

It's just a little south of the village of Burton. Now on May 26th, 2006, Garrett's birthday, Daniel A and Marianne Ricker's home is pretty much cleared out and empty except for some limited kitchenware, a few boxes and some minimal belongings that they still have with them. Just I wasn't born 2006 just in FYI. Yes, wait a minute. Just in case anyone thought.

Daniel and Marianne are sleeping on the floor on an air mattress in the living room. Now that night, their house, or at least one of their doors, is unlocked. As the small town is safe, they're on five acres. Either it was unlocked intentionally, or just this was something they were used to. But by many accounts, they are planning

to move out the very next morning. Their car is loaded, and they're just about to leave town for good. So they slept through the night on this air mattress, and at 6.30 a.m., they are still sound asleep. But their bulldog, Mulligan, is the first one to sense any trouble. Mulligan starts barking, which wakes up the couple,

but they figure it's nothing and they try to fall back asleep. However, the barking continues. And when Daniel and Mary Ann open their eyes, they come to the horrifying realization that a man wearing a mask and brandishing a sawed-off shotgun has broken into their home. He's right there on the first floor of their home confronting them. Their face to face with this armed intruder. The man is terrifying in his camo style hunting garb and a black ski mask. The armed intruder. The man is terrifying in his camo style hunting garb and a black ski mask. The masked intruder threatens to kill a couple, but

oddly, one of the very first things he does is ask Daniel his name. So Daniel responds, I'm Daniel Ott. And the intruder then forces Daniel and Marianne to lie face down on the floor. The gunman reportedly binds and gags Daniel by tying his wrists together with duct tape and possibly also ties him to a chair and uses duct tape on his mouth. The gunman doesn't tie up Marianne, but it's possible he's just about to. The intruder keeps giving instructions to her throughout the ordeal such as lay down, be quiet and she complies. Then, after getting Daniel bound and gagged, multiple reports says the gunman inexplicably

starts to walk away, possibly heading out of the residence. Now Daniel fears what's about to happen next, especially to his girlfriend. But around this point, all reports agree that Daniel manages to break free of his restraints and in an effort to protect Marianne, he bravely puts up a fight with the armed intruder. Daniel grabs an object, it's possibly a lamp and tries to hit the intruder, but remember their house is basically empty. The two have a physical scuffle, but eventually the intruder who's armed with the shotgun opens fire. The gunman shoots Daniel in the chest.

You scared me. Sorry, he was going to mad. At point blank range, and the shooter then flees the scene in a car that's waiting outside, leaving Marianne alive. The entire attack is only minutes long, and it takes place entirely on the first floor of the empty home. Sheriff Daniel McClelland will say the intruder came into the house armed. That's a very volatile, dangerous situation

when they occur and this all unfolded quickly. By 6.40am, Marianne is calling 911 and emergency personnel quickly respond to the house. Daniel is bleeding out on the floor of their home. First, he's still able to talk to her, but by the time the emergency vehicles get there, he's no longer talking. The paramedics rush Daniel to the UH Regional Hospital, but it's too late and he's pronounced dead. His death is due to a gunshot wound to his chest. Marianne is left physically unharmed, but completely and utterly traumatized. By that afternoon, she's talking to police and she's able to give a description of the killer.

The problem is, that ski mask he's wearing. She never got a look at his face. I wonder why he didn't shoot her. Well, I don't know either, because he just shot awe and then left. I guess as I wonder if he was even going... To shoot her in the first place. He had to shoot them and maybe when he shot him, he was like, oh, I mean, I mean, not... That was harder than I thought.

He's still an evil person, but I'm just saying, I wonder if that's what was going on. Why leave a witness? Yeah. So she claims that he was about five foot 10 with a medium build. She can also give a description of the getaway car. It was a maroon

Ford. Unfortunately, this description could apply to a large percentage of the population. There is apparently not much in the way of helpful physical evidence at the crime scene either. There is no sign of forced entry at the house, remember the doors were unlocked. The police searched the house and surrounding area, but they don't find the murder weapon. The police searched the house and surrounding area, but they don't find the murder weapon. Murder surely doesn't happen often in this village. And the law enforcement agency called in to assist the sheriff's office with the investigation is the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation. Also, anyone with information is urged to call in any tips at this point because they realize pretty quickly

they have nothing to go on and they're puzzled. It just doesn't make any sense. They simply can't piece together a motive. Jumping into an ad and it is native. I use their body wash, I use their shampoo, we use their sunscreen, everything. Or deodorant. We are big native fans over here.

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That's rocketmoney.com slash husband. Rocketmoney.com slash husband. Robbery couldn't be the mode of nothing was stolen, plus there was nothing of value remaining at the house anyway. And why, I mean, police are wondering just like Garrett, was Marianne left alive and unharmed. As the police go the usual route of investigating and dig into Daniel's life and his past, and look into anyone he knew, they find that he is a person doesn't fit at all with someone

who would be murdered in what clearly seemed to be a pretty targeted way. As written in the Cinematolic, Daniel was quote, described as a kind-hearted and generous individual who loved helping people and was quite popular in his community. He was friendly, he had good relationships with all and had no enemies. I mean, he grew flowers for a living. Like, and he just lived a quiet life with his girlfriend on five acres. All of law enforcement's efforts of looking into Daniel Auts' past for possible insight into his murder are coming up blank. Repeated interviews and repeated following up of leads keep coming up blank as well.

And the question remains, why was Daniel Aught killed? Please keep digging and digging, but the case is kind of growing cold. They are relentless in their pursuit of answers. So as they are looking into Daniel Aught in his life, they discover in its weird. There's a second Daniel Aught, Daniel C. Aught, who lives not too far away from where Daniel E. Aught lived. You think Daniel Aught that was killed knew that? Police don't know, but they're like, what a weird coincidence. And such a small area,

what are the chances that there's two Daniel Aughts living side by side? And so they're like, does this mean something like is he related? This Daniel Aughts full name is Daniel Carl Aught and he lives in Northease, Ohio in Akron, Ohio. Unlike the Daniel Aught who was murdered, though, he has a pretty checkered past. He's got a very lengthy rap sheet. The more they look, the more they think about it, the more police believe that it is plausible. And perhaps even likely that this Daniel C. ought to all refer to as C to avoid any confusion

between the two Daniel Ots was the intended target of this hit. And Daniel E. ought was just killed innocently. No way. Because Daniel C. Ott was the man that they were trying to murder. Remember how the first question the person asked was, what's your name? They believed that it was a hit hired and that the hitmen did research and found the wrong Daniel Ott in Ohio. What the heck? What are the chances of that?

But here's the thing. Daniel C.. or C is almost 70 years old. So how does a hitman get it all so terribly wrong murdering a 31-year-old who was less than half the age of Daniel C.O.T.? So this part of the theory just doesn't make really any sense. But the police begin investigating C to see in earnest to figure out if there was a mistaken hit and whether the wrong Daniel Ott was murdered and this is what they learn. The elderly Daniel Carl Ott is a career criminal with an extremely lengthy criminal history. He's been convicted many many times with priors going all the way back to 1960. He's described in Cleveland.com and is widely known as one of Northeast Ohio's

most prolific car thieves. He's been convicted at least 14 times for stealing cars. Plus, he steals many other large items as well. I feel like if you get caught 14 times, it's time to stop stealing cars. I feel like he's probably pretty good at it if he's not serving his whole life in prison. That is true as well. I I mean obviously he keeps getting caught But he must not be a very they must not want to keep him in yeah, I don't understand So his mo now that he's older is to be the sweet old man who asked to look at a Corvette at an auto sales place and then He may even ask to sit in the car and then the next day the car will just be gone He's also stolen four planes

during his criminal career, which is showing planes, airplanes, which is showing what? Like, he's not slowing down anytime soon. He is 70 years old and still a car doesn't have cars, boats, I can do it all. Trains, automobiles. Now C's longstanding nickname is actually red due to the color of his hair before it turned white But we are just gonna stick with C now C stole his first car at the age of 13 According to cleafscene.com. He was a paperboy for the plane dealer which it's not airplane It's plane and when he spotted the 1937 plymouth coop with the key still in it the decision didn't take long quote

I drove it on my paperboard route for two weeks. I'd park it in a field, but eventually they found me. So he just stole a card so that he could use it to deliver his paperboard or his paper on his paper route. Okay. I mean, which, okay, like, he's tired of pedaling. Yeah, I mean. He's tired of riding his bike.

I mean, at 13, maybe it's fine, but okay, it's not fine out of way. He definitely knew better. Let's be, let's be real. So see first, attractive federal law enforcement scrutiny when he stole an FBI surveillance van. Okay. Yeah. He serves two separate stints in federal prison. And looking into C's background, the police also learned something that they believe is going to point them in the right direction. They learned that C, along with a man named Joseph Rosebrook and a third man named Kurt Frazier, were working together for years, operating what was called a chop shop

operation in Ohio, which involves stealing cars and reselling them for their parts. The Logan County Sheriff's Office gets wind of the operation at some point, and they begin investigating these three criminals and their illegal operation. Now Kurt Frazier cooperates with the police investigation against Joe, and he ends up going to prison. But Joe is not somebody that you want to cross, so he's one of the three men in this little Oceans 11 people. And Kurt Frazier cooperating against Joe is going to set in motion a bizarre chain of events that will

ultimately lead to the murder of Daniel E. Ott not see. And this is what police uncover during the investigation. Now Joe Rosebrook, who'd been working with Daniel C. Ott and Frazier on the illegal Chop Shop business, was born on November 18, 1955. By 2006, he's been involved in illegal activities for decades. Just as background, a young criminal associate of Joe Rosebrook's disappears and is presumed murdered in 1999.

This was an 18-year-old named Michael Latimer. This associate had worked with Rosebrook and then cooperated with the police against him, and then he ends up murdered. And Rosebrook is never convicted of this murder, although he's considered a suspect. And this is when he begins, or perhaps continues, a reign of witness intimidation that will make the Daniel Op. Murder case so extremely difficult to solve and prosecute. This Joe Rosebrook, the police discover, has a history of hiring Hitman to take out anyone

who cooperates with the police against him. He knows it's kind of crazy. I mean, I always knew it was a real thing like Hitman, but it's a real thing. It's a real thing, especially, for like these's a real thing. It's a real thing especially for like these, these, these long time criminals who are doing, I don't wanna say petty, petty crimes, but like running actual illegal businesses,

they gotta protect their business. And so. There's just these Hitman out there and that just, it's, yes. No, that's nuts. Yes. So police discover all of this as they're looking into the Daniel Yacht case And they feel like this is their best lead that he wasn't even the intended subject and the other Daniel

It was the intended subject so for nine long years they investigate this, but They don't tell the public they don't tell the public that they have this thing Well, I think because you're kind of taking down a big dog. Yeah, I can say you're taking down a pretty hard criminal. It's more than just the murder at this point. Right. He's attached to multiple murders, multiple testimonies like he's involved in and out of court. I mean, that's hard. So fast forward to June 1st, 2015. This is nine years after the murder. Nine long years of dog investigating and finally, finally, the police announced that three men have been arrested in connection with Daniel's murder. Our Daniel who grew

flowers lived on five acres when it was about to move to Michigan. Joe Rosebrook is arrested in Florida where he moved after being released from his latest prison sentence. His brother Jeff Rosebrook is arrested at home in Logan County, Ohio, and a man named Chad South is also arrested. Two of the three suspects in Otsmurder are being held in Jellin, Ohio,

and there are reports that two of the suspects arrested are from Ohio and one is from out of state. So how did the police get here? How did they find enough evidence? How are these three men involved in the murder of a blameless flower grower? The police announced their theory is that Joe Rosebrook hired a hitman, Chad South, to commit the murder of Daniel C. Ott, but that Chad South did research and, you know, didn't do it very well and killed the wrong Daniel Aught from Ohio.

That sucks. Yes. That sucks. That's horrible. So, who is Chad South, this hitman? He's 45 years old at the time of his arrest and he's from Marine Ohio. On March 16, 2004, two years before Daniel's murder, Chad South gets arrested related to a burglary he commits with a different criminal associate of his. According to the police, Chad South and his cohort broke into a home in the Indian Lake

area in Ohio and were inside stacking all the stuff they were planning to steal. But they attract attention and Logan County police respond to neighbors calls about a burglary in process. Which like how loud do you have to be to wake people up and like have them report that there's a burglary going on? Yeah, I mean I guess if they break a few windows in. I know, but even then it's like what are you dragging TVs out the front door? Like how do they know it's a burglary? Yeah, it's like, what are you dragging TVs out the front door? How do they know it's a birthday? This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. Have you ever found yourself at a crossroads, unsure of which direction to take in life?

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Yes, you energy. Energy for everything. Tap the banner now to learn more. So the police arrive and the two burglarers, one of them being Chad South and the other guy, are inside the house. However, when the police are ordering them to come out, they don't come out and they have a standoff and police finally have to enter the house and drag both of them out. South is laying down under a blanket when police come in acting like he's too drunk to stand or walk. So that was their thing, like, oh no, we've been caught.

Let's both just play that were so drunk that we can't even talk. I feel like it's something I would do like play dead like, oh, I'm asleep. Sorry, I'm sleeping. Get some sleeping. What was it? Well, police don't fall for it. So Chad South gets a 15 month sentence for this burglary. He's in gel from March through at least December 2004. And meanwhile, Joe Rosebrook is in prison on racketeering charges. So he and Chad South are in prison at the same time. Now sometime in 2004,

Joe Rosebrook wants revenge on Kurt Frazier for cooperating with the police against him and landing him in prison. Remember him, Kurt, and Daniel, all are in the chop shop together. So he hires his other chop shop partner, Daniel see ought to be a hitman and kill Frazier. So once C gets out of prison,

he'll be able to do this hit for Joe. However, C tricks Rosebrook into believing he's actually going to carry out the hit against Frazier and instead, just like Frazier before him goes to the authorities to help them in their prosecution against Joe. So C wants to cooperate with law enforcement who are investigating him in Rosebrook and Frazier for their chop shop operation, which is kind of like if you can sing and get less time, why wouldn't he? So he tells Rosebrook, oh yeah, I'm gonna kill Frazier,

but then he goes to police and says, actually, I'm gonna help you guys in your prosecution. So obviously C wants to get a lighter sentence, so he agrees to wear a wire and records his incriminating conversations with Joe Rosebrook. We've already learned that being a snitch can get you in a lot of trouble. Well, especially with a guy like Joe,

who everyone who testifies him, just like somehow ends up dead. So why would you be the, how? The snitch. Yes, why would you snitch against this guy? So anyways. It's so hard, it's hard in the rut because I probably would snitch.

You're saying. I think I'm gonna get less time. I wouldn't, I'm a loyal. I wouldn't snitch on you, but guess it depends what's going on I'm a Bonnie and Clyde good So law enforcement at this point also apparently obtains a wiretap and then record Joe Rosebrook's phone conversations as well And at this point he's out now on bond with an ankle monitor

However law enforcement gets him on tape talking about a hit this will be the one against razor So Rosebrook's bond is revoked and he's thrown back in prison. See agrees to testify against his former partner Joe Rosebrook at this point. And remember, when Joe goes back in prison, he's going in prison at the same time that Chad South is in prison. His future hitman that he's going to hire to kill Daniel Aunt. Joe pleads guilty and is later convicted in 2005 on the attempted hit and for the illegal chop shop operation. He sentenced to 10 years for conspiracy. Then Joe Rosebrook being who he is, wants revenge against the latest guy who he feels rotted him out. So he's in prison right now for trying to hire a hit against Frazier going through Daniel. And now he goes to prison for that

and trying to hire another hit to kill Daniel. Yes. Okay, got it. Now got it, which is pretty crazy that him being in prison. I mean, I know it's a real thing. I have a little time. I assume I'm not, I mean, I don't know, from first an experience, but they're hiring Hitman

while they're in prison to kill someone else. Right. Yeah. And it does happen all the time. Yeah, it does. So while he's in prison, he's obviously in prison with Chad South and they actually end up sharing a cell together. So that's how Joe Rosebrook meets Chad South who he's going to hire as a Hitman.

So around March 2006, Chadals becomes a free man and is released from the London Correction Institute. He keeps in touch with Joe and he's the one who gets hired to commit the hit against Daniel C. Ott, who Rosebrook fills double across him. Joe Rosebrook has smuggled a phone into prison and he's able to keep in touch with his criminal associates on the outside. He's even able to order this hit while in prison. Meanwhile, two months later, in mid-May, Daniel E. Aught and his girlfriend, Mary Ann Ricker, are in the process of moving out of their Ohio home to Michigan. Sometime on May 25, the day before the murder, Chad South, along with a woman named Mindy

Mock Stanifer and a man named Alva Jacobs, drive from Dayton, Ohio to the small town of Burton, Ohio. This trip is about 240 miles and over three and a half hours. They spend the night at Chad South's friends home, close to where South is going to perform the hit the next morning. He's done all the research. He's found Daniel Ott. He knows that he's living here and he's and he's been hired to kill him. The issue is he found the wrong Daniel Ott, which at this point, this is where you get confused because he finds the house. He goes inside. Apparently, it doesn't click that the guy in front of him is not seven years old.

So it does. Okay. Given the enormous age gap between the Daniel Outs, Chad South kind of freezes. And he says, what's your name? And Daniel says Daniel Outs. And he realizes that he's broken into the wrong man's home. So he knows once he's in there that he's in the wrong home. Why do you kill him? Well, this is why by some accounts, he ties Daniel up and then goes to leave. Remember, he turns around to go to leave,

but then Daniel gets free and starts to attack him. And so in the middle of the struggle, he shoots Daniel and then chowd south, runs to the car where the two other people are waiting and they get out, they get out of there. He's drenched in blood and he throws up in the car as they drive away and then he frantically tells them, I just killed the wrong Daniel ought.

Oh my gosh, it's so heartbreaking. I'm heartbreaking that he died and that he's sure enough. Right. So law enforcement is investigating the wrong name angle, but they're having difficulty because of witness intimidation and with people refusing to cooperate. Because you're in the circle of criminals. Like it's gonna be hard.

The years will pass while the investigation continues, like I said. And see the original man who was supposed to be killed actually continues committing crimes at 70 years old. He's caught stealing cars again. He admits the FBI that he's stolen over 100 quovets in his life. So he goes to jail cars again. He admits the FBI that he stolen over 100 quovets in his life. So he goes to jail yet again. Meanwhile, in March 2014, Joe Rosebrook is finally released from prison after serving the 10-year sentence relating to the attempted murder for hire of Frazier, and he moves to Florida. In May of 2015, Stanifer, who is the woman who was there the night of the murder, contacts police and says, I have all this information and I'm going to help you guys out.

So she finally turns on Chad South. She tells police that she was with Chad and Alva in the county that day of the murder. She gives some information as to the details surrounding the murder. But she also kind of continues to lie to law enforcement about her involvement. She kind of minimizes it. She would make agreements with law enforcement to cooperate but then back out, then lie a little bit more. So it wasn't like she was a very reliable witness. But finally after a very long and difficult investigation spanning nine years, we're back to the day of the three arrests. It's June 1st, 2015. Finally, the

three men are arrest sitting connection with Daniel's murder. And this is when police have to tell the public, we've solved this murder. And the wrong Daniel ought was killed. Yeah. Like, and imagine the public's just like what? What? Like this guy was killed because he had the same name as this. And then the other Daniel, it's where we're like, oh, I was supposed to die that night. I was supposed to be killed, yeah. Yeah. At some point in August of 2015, Mindy Stanford, the Getaway driver is also arrested, even though she was the one who kind of cooperated with police.

And then Alva Jacobs, the other man in the car that night, is arrested as well. On June 22, 2016, Chad South, the hitman who was supposed to kill Daniel C. Aught, is the first to be sentenced for the crime of killing Daniel E. Aught. At the same time, Daniel C. Aught is going back to prison for more thefts. So it's just a whole entanglement of crime. And at his sentencing, the judge actually looks at him and says, hey, the real Daniel ought at 78 years old is actually in prison. So maybe you'll see him there. The man you were actually supposed to kill. As of 2016, C was still alive and his whereabouts

are unknown for his own protection because he had two more attempted hits placed on him. His notorious crime spree includes more than 1,000 stolen cars, two federal prison terms, and countless local jail sentences. But he just keeps on stealing. No one has ever explained how the hitman Chad South managed to go to the wrong Daniel Auts house. The right Daniel Auts says that Joe Rosebrook only knew that he lived in a suburb of Cleveland but that he didn't know his exact address, so they probably just googled it and that was how.

To sum up this case, and as aptly stated by NBCNews.com, the only thing the slain Daniel Ott was guilty of was having the same name as the intended target. Someone completely blameless who had no connections whatsoever to the Rosebrook criminal network, was gunned down in the prime of his life, right before an exciting move to a new city for a new job right in front of his loving girlfriend. Just think of all the ways this could have been avoided. If they had moved a day or two earlier, if Joe Rosebrook hadn't been able to smuggle a phone into prison, if Chad South hadn't made such a colossal deadly mistake, if the real Daniel Ott hadn't stolen over 1,000 cars and agreed

to do a hit for Rosebrook in the first place, which then led to himself becoming the target of another hit. This is such a bizarre and tragic case. As written by CleveSeline.com, the hit was just off by some 50 miles. The only positive thing about any of this is that justice was finally carried out and that those responsible for Daniel's murder have been held accountable, but these lengthy sentences won't bring Daniel back. And that is the case of Daniel Ott, the real Daniel Ott.

I hate ones like this, that sucks. I know, like, it could have been avoided been avoid like not that they could have avoided it, but like it was just I don't know. I don't know how to put words into it. Right. And also there's a little part that's like you're supposed to fight for your life, right? Exactly. You have to. You have to. You can't just sit there and get shot. So he does. So he does, but- Little did he know that-

Was he actually on his way out? Yeah, like was he gonna leave him alive? Like, I don't know. You never know. You can't speculate that, because he's don't know. But also it's just like so many things had to go wrong for this to happen. Yeah, it sucks.

And yeah, it's just awful. Okay, you guys, well, that is our case for this week, and we will see you next time with another. Also, there is a bonus case out this week for subscribers, so go check that out, and we will see you guys next time. I love it. I hate it. Goodbye. you