COLUMBUS — The Ohio Supreme Court has declined to hear a lawsuit from family members of deceased Ohio State University student and former Monclova Township resident Reagan Tokes.
Ms. Tokes’ estate is attempting to sue state officials for not properly monitoring Brian Lee Golsby, who kidnapped, robbed, raped, and killed her the night of Feb. 8, 2017, while he was wearing a GPS ankle monitoring device following his release from prison. The victim’s family contends the state’s failure to monitor his GPS device in real time contributed to her death.
In September of 2018, the Ohio Court of Claims determined the state was immune from liability in the case. Judge Patrick M. McGrath found that the state had no special relationship with Ms. Tokes to protect her from Golsby.
The 10th District Court of Appeals in Columbus had also previously dismissed the lawsuit.
The Ohio Supreme Court released an announcement Tuesday declining to accept jurisdiction for the appeal.
Golsby had been released from prison two months before killing Ms. Tokes after completing an unrelated six-year sentence for attempted rape. He was subject to supervision by the Ohio Adult Parole Authority and released into a residential program run by a nonprofit corporation.
His GPS ankle monitor recorded his whereabouts but was not monitored in real time. For days while wearing the monitor, he committed a series of robberies in Columbus immediately leading up to the night he ran into Ms. Tokes at random as she left work at a restaurant not far from the Ohio State campus.
Ms. Tokes was three months shy of her graduation at the time of her death.
Her family has fought for changes to state laws to prevent what happened to Ms. Tokes from happening to anyone else. Last year, state lawmakers enacted sentencing reforms that allow the state to keep some offenders behind bars longer, but her family continues fighting for additional reforms, such as real-time GPS ankle monitoring.
Earlier this year, the Tokes case drew national attention with an episode of Dateline NBC that examined the crime and the perceived holes in Ohio law that played a role in Ms. Tokes’ death.
Currently before lawmakers is House Bill 215, sponsored by Kristin Boggs (D., Columbus) and Rick Carfagna (R., Westerville), which proposes curfew, travel, and other restrictions on those wearing GPS devices as well as a mandate that the state maintain housing for released inmates who are rejected by private halfway houses. Parole officer caseloads would also be reduced.
A similar measure, Senate Bill 133, has been introduced in the upper chamber by Sens. Sean O’Brien (D., Cortland) and Nathan Manning (R., North Ridgeville).
First Published August 6, 2019, 1:53 p.m.
