J OSEPH T.

D ET ERS
HAMILTON COUNTY PROSECUTING ATTORNEY
APPELLATE DIVISION
230 EAST NINTH STREET, SUITE 4000
CINCINNATI, OH 45202-2151
PHONE: (513) 946-3000
FAX: 946-3021
WWW.HCPROS.ORG
WRITERS DIRECT DIAL NUMBER
946-3227

April 4, 2016
Ohio Parole Board
Adult Parole Authority
770 West Broad Street
Columbus, Ohio 43222-1419
Re:

Dwayne Henry
Institution No. A449943
Case No. B0101002
Institution: Warren Correctional Institution

To the Members of the Parole Board:

We are in receipt of your March 17, 2016 notification of release hearing scheduled for
June, 2016, on the above named inmate. Our records indicate that this defendant is serving a
sentence of 15 years to LIFE following a conviction for Murder in the above case number.
Dwayne Henry brutally murdered a 13-year-old girl. Indeed, this is one of the most
disturbing and upsetting murders that the undersigned has seen in all his years as a prosecutor.
In late January 2001, 13-year old Mary Hall and then 16-year old Henry were engaged in
sexual behavior. This started outside and moved to Henrys bedroom. At someone, they were
interrupted, so they left and headed to a nearby abandoned building.
As best we can tell, Hall was performing oral sex on Henry. She apparently got upset at
something he did, so she smacked him. From here out, the police pieced together what happened
by following Marys blood.
After she smacked him, the two went into a room where the first violent act against Mary
is believed to have taken place. The police found a pool of blood in that room. A trail of blood
showed that Mary then fled up some stairs. At the top of the stairs, she came to a balcony and,
based off of her bloody hand prints, looked over the railing and must have decided it was too
high to jump from.

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Page 2
Re:

Dwayne Henry
Institution No. A449943

The blood trail then led to another room where she either stood while trying figure out
what where to go or simply trying to hide. She then moved to another room where, based off
another pool of blood, she likely fell to her knees or otherwise stood still for some time. She
then headed back down stairs.
There was a landing on the steps. Police believe Henry must have struck her on that
landing based off of blood splash marks. It appeared she was struck while lying on the floor.
At this point, Mary was dragged back down the stairs to the first floor of the building.
The police were able to tell she was drug because of the blood found on each step showing where
her head hit it. That blood was smeared her hair.
At the bottom of the stairs, with her head resting on the 2nd to last step, she was struck in
the head again. This was evidenced by a bloody splash mark.
It is then believed that Henry picked her up (she weighed under 100 pounds) and took her
to an area where part of the floor was missing and threw her into the basement. Blood marks
showed that her head struck a ladder that extended from the basement to the floor that she was
thrown from.
Henry then went into the basement and started to disrobe her. When police found her
body, her shirt was pulled up over her breasts, exposing her bra. Her pants were pulled down to
her knees and her underwear had been slightly pulled down. One shoe had been removed.
What appeared to be a footprint was found on Marys stomach. And blood drippings
were found near the ladder that also had Henrys bloody handprints on every other rung.
Marys head and neck were covered in wounds. Her neck had a three-inch gash on it.
Her neck also had multiple hesitation marks on it where it appeared a knife had been placed on
her neck, but not sliced. The entire right side of her head was caved in. She also had blunt
traumas to the left side of her head. She had a large laceration on the top of her head, including
an indentation to her skull from what appeared to have been a chopping blow. She had multiple
contusions and abrasions around her eyes and forehead. Her lip was split open. There were
defensive wounds on her hands.
Henrys account to the police somewhat mirrored what the blood trail proved. He told
police that things started due to Mary not performing up to his sexual needs.

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Page 3
Re:

Dwayne Henry
Institution No. A449943

He told the police that Mary likes to fuck with your mind, gets you hard then doesnt do
anything about it. He said that when they were in the abandoned building that Mary started
stroking his penis, but then acted as if she was doing something wrong, so she slapped him. In
response, he punched her in the stomach.
Despite being punched in the stomach, Henry said Mary then started to perform oral sex
on him but that she was playing them little games by stopping and starting. Based off of his
having a difficult time getting a nut, he started pumping on her face. Mary slapped him for
this, so he went off on her. He said he punched her, she ran, he found and hit her again, and
then kicked her. He said he found a board and used it to hit her in the head. He denied using a
knife. He claimed she stumbled into the hole in the floor. He also denied going into the
basement and using the ladder.
By the time he finally pleaded guilty to murdering Mary, more than two year after he
killed her, he would at least admit that he hit her with a board, slashed her throat, and tried to
gouge her eyes out. It took that long to resolve his case due to his faking mental health issues. In
2009, Henrys mother petitioned the court to release Henry. Instead of blaming mental health
problems, she blamed his actions on drugs that her brothers had been providing to him. The trial
court denied her request.
Notably, this is not Henrys only violent act. His juvenile history includes multiple
felony domestic violence adjudications against his own family. While the undersigned has not
had an opportunity to view an institutional summary report on Henry yet, it appears that he was
convicted of an assault while in prison.
Henry brutally murdered a 13-year-old girl. This was not just a brief fit of rage brought
on by his being slapped and Mary was not simply beaten to death. She was pursued throughout
an abandoned building. As he hunted her, he attacked her along the way. Her head was crushed
by a chopping blow from above. She was thrown into a hole that led to the basement. The only
thankful thing that can be said about this case is that she should have been unconscious by the
time she was in the basement, so at least she was not consciously dying while Henry started
disrobing her.
The brutality in this case is the kind of stuff one would expect to find in a straight-toDVD horror movie. It is not the kind of stuff people think happens in real life. Yet here we are.
The pain and terror that Mary suffered in this case are things that none of us can (or should even
try to) imagine. The absolute cruelty exhibited by Henry shows that he is, without question, and

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Page 4
Re:

Dwayne Henry
Institution No. A449943

extraordinarily dangerous individual. Despite being a juvenile when he committed this crime, he
has truly earned a life sentence. He should, therefore, never be granted any type of release.
Sincerely,

Scott M. Heenan
Assistant Prosecuting Attorney
Hamilton County, Ohio
SMH/gmy