ASHLAND — Stanley Gardner pled not guilty Wednesday to a murder charge involving the homicide of his son.
Gardner, 71, was charged Sept. 9 with the murder of his son, 39-year-old Jason Gardner, who was found shot to death in a home across the street from Brookside West Park a week earlier.
The elder Gardner appeared for Wednesday’s remote hearing from his Ashland County Jail cell dressed in a yellow jumpsuit and oxygen tubes in both nostrils.
The appearance, held over Zoom, was joined also by his attorney, Matt Malone and Ashland County Prosecutor Chris Tunnell. Judge Paul Lange conducted the five-minute hearing.
Stanley Gardner also waived his right to a preliminary hearing, which is often held in felony cases to determine whether a defendant can be held in jail or if the case should move forward in the legal process.
Last week, when he was charged, Lange set Gardner’s bond at $100,000.
The charge stems from an incident at Stanley Gardner’s house along the 1200 block of County Road 1153. According to a 911 call made by his future daughter-in-law, she’d found him injured “like he was in a massive fight or something,” she told the 911 dispatcher.
She described her father-in-law’s face as being covered in blood and his eyes were swollen shut. His hand was also swollen, she told the 911 dispatcher.
When Ashland County Sheriff deputies arrived, they found Jason Gardner in the garage, apparently shot to death.
Investigators have since discovered a note the father wrote that confesses to killing his son. He then outlined his plans to take his own life, though he did not use a gun. Stanley Gardner has pre-existing medical ailments, according to investigators.
Investigators did not find signs of struggle inside the home.
Tunnell does not know how many times Jason Gardner was shot. That information will be available in an autopsy report conducted by the Cuyahoga County Coroner, which is standard procedure in Ashland County.
“Our coroner has a contract with Cuyahoga for them to conduct autopsies,” he said, adding the Ashland County Coroner still determines cause of death and signs off on death certificates, but not until a report is complete, which could take weeks.
“The thing that takes the most time is always toxicology,” Tunnell said.
If convicted, Gardner would be sentenced to life in prison with the option of parole after 15 years. His next hearing is Oct. 17 at 9:30 a.m.
