Pigge, 28, of Ross County, is charged with aggravated murder and possession of a deadly weapon while under detention in connection with the killing of Luther Wade, 28, of Springfield, on Feb. 28 in the cell they shared in the prison’s segregation unit.
The reports also provide details about what happened after an alarm went off, triggering the response to the beating death in the segregated section of the high-security prison outside Lebanon.
The hole, which is being closed in renovations, was concealed by newspaper and clothes hung over it, according to the investigative reports released Wednesday in response to a public records request.
“Besides the obvious blood splatter, pools of blood and bloody items, they did discover two other remarkable items/issues,” the report said. “The first was the recovery of an 8-inch by 8-inch piece of concrete block from underneath the bed.
“This led to the discovery of the second remarkable issue. Cells 2R4 and 2R5 both had newspaper stuck to the common wall next to the lower bunks, as well as clothing hanging from a clothesline further concealing the newspaper.”
“When the clothing and newspaper was removed, a large hole measuring approximately 2-feet by 2-feet between the cells was revealed. All of the concrete blocks that had been removed were missing from the cells with the exception of the 8-inch by 8-inch piece recovered in Cell 2R5.”
Prosecutors said they declined to seek the death penalty due to Pigge's low IQ, which disqualified him under Ohio law. This afternoon, a hearing is scheduled on whether his statements to investigators should be excluded due to his limited intelligence.
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