WAUSEON — James D. Worley "wanted to watch the light in her eyes go out” when he killed Sierah Joughin, Fulton County Prosecutor Scott Haselman told jurors in his closing argument.

That desire, fueled by violent fantasies mirrored in the pornographic video searches on his computer and the "overwhelming" amount of evidence presented, Mr. Haselman said, meant Worley had to kill the 20-year-old Metamora woman after she disappeared while riding her bike in rural Fulton County on July 19, 2016.

"From the moment he took her from County Road 6, he was going to have to kill her if he was going to get away with it,”  Mr. Haselman said. “He could not let her go and avoid punishment."

Worley’s fate is now in the hands of the jurors, who began deliberations shortly before 3 p.m. Monday. They were sent home for the night about 6:30 p.m. and will resume at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

DAY 1: Initial interviews with Worley played on first day of murder trial | DAY 2: BCI agent testifies during 2nd day of Worley murder trial I DAY 3: Testimony focuses on pornography searches I DAY 4: Financials, injuries focus of proceedings | DAY 5: James Worley trial centers on DNA, phone data | DAY 6: James Worley trial enters second week | DAY 7: Defense rests in Worley case

For their consideration are two counts of aggravated murder — both with death-penalty specifications — as well as four counts of kidnapping, two counts each of murder, abduction, felonious assault, and having weapons while under disability, and one count each of possessing criminal tools, gross abuse of a corpse, and tampering with evidence.

Worley, according to the prosecution, ambushed Ms. Joughin as she rode on County Road 6 and struck her with his motorcycle helmet, causing multiple head wounds. He waited until dark, when he left on his motorcycle and returned in a pickup truck to collect her and bring her back to his barn.

There he dressed her in lingerie items he purchased online, Mr. Haselman said, and bound and gagged her. Both Worley's and Ms. Joughin's DNA were found at three key locations — the alleged kidnapping site, his property, and on County Road 7 near the place where her body was found in a shallow grave on July 22. An autopsy revealed she had been asphyxiated by a large yellow dog toy used as a gag.

Ms. Joughin's DNA on pink underwear and a mattress found in Worley’s barn show that she was there, Mr. Haselman said. The clothes she was buried in, including a white brassiere and white socks, matched other clothing found in the barn. A mixture of both of their DNA was found on the helmet and a glove recovered near the grave.

"That evidence rips the cloak of innocence off the defendant," he said.

Mr. Haselman also pointed to cell phone evidence showing Ms. Joughin's and Worley's phones near each other at the same time that night, as well as Worley's initial statements to investigators.

Worley, 58, of rural Delta, told authorities his motorcycle broke down near where Ms. Joughin's bike was found and he had to push it home. After initially saying he didn't leave home again that night, he later said he returned to the area in his truck to look for lost items: his motorcycle helmet, fuses, sunglasses, and a screwdriver.

Why lie, Mr. Haselman asked: "That's what guilty people do."

Closing arguments took place in front of a mostly full gallery in Fulton County Common Pleas Court. Many people wore purple — Ms. Joughin's favorite color.

Though mostly expressionless during proceedings, Worley several times turned off a monitor on the defense table when photographs of Ms. Joughin's body were shown to jurors.

Mr. Haselman also asked jurors to consider the similarities in the Joughin case to the testimony of Robin Gardner, the woman who testified to Worley striking her with a truck as she rode her bike in July, 1990, handcuffing her, and threatening to kill her.

The similarities — both young women on bikes in rural areas, the use of handcuffs and a screwdriver — show "a behavioral fingerprint," Mr. Haselman said.

Defense attorney Merle Dech focused his closing argument on all the places Worley's DNA was not found, including on Ms. Joughin's bike and the gag, as well as an unidentified palm print on the helmet. 

"Any theory that James Worley kidnapped or abducted Sierah Joughin from the bicycle, moved her in any way, came into contact with her in any way on County Road 6 ... is not supported by DNA evidence," Mr. Dech said.

"There's a simple explanation for that: Because James Worley did not come into contact with Sierah Joughin that night."

The reasonable doubt that creates, Mr. Dech said, must lead the jury to a not guilty verdict.

But Mr. Haselman said the evidence leaves a trail for jurors to follow that will show Worley is guilty on all counts.

"That is justice," he said.

One female juror was excused during the trial and replaced with an alternate, making the jury now eight women and four men. Five alternates — four women and one man — will not be in deliberations but have not yet been excused.

Contact Lauren Lindstrom at llindstrom@theblade.com, 419-724-6154, or on Twitter @lelindstrom.

First Published March 26, 2018, 5:22 p.m.