Ginn says he killed friend in self-defense: He gives his account in letter to Southern Standard

By DUANE SHERRILL / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

Murder suspect Jeremiah Ginn discusses his case with Public Defender Dan Bryant during arraignment Friday. Ginn is charged with stabbing his friend to death this April but maintains he acted in self-defense. (Duane Sherrill photo)

The man accused of stabbing his long-time friend to death with a hunting knife has entered a not guilty plea to first-degree murder charges and said in a letter written to the Standard he feared for his life.

The defendant, Jeremiah Ginn, 26, entered a not guilty plea before special judge J. Curtis Smith Friday. Prosecutors say they may ask for life without chance of parole for Ginn if he is convicted. Ginn has been assigned the public defender’s office for his representation.

Ginn is accused of killing Robert Allen Webb Jr., 25, in the early morning hours April 1. The fatal stabbing occurred in Ginn’s driveway on Perry Road. Lawmen found Webb dead of stab wounds to the neck when they arrived. Ginn reportedly admitted to stabbing his friend. The knife used in the killing was found on Ginn’s porch.

Ginn further maintained he acted in self-defense; however, investigators say they found evidence Ginn may have staged the crime scene to make it appear like self-defense.

In a letter from his cell at Warren County Jail, Ginn maintains he did not stage the crime scene, but instead that deputies moved the handgun before investigators arrived. The handgun in question was the one Ginn maintains his friend was brandishing, prompting him to defend himself with the knife.

“I wish people would quit saying I staged the scene because that is false,” Ginn wrote in his letter to the Standard. “He (Webb) had me in fear for my life on April 1. I have not ever been a violent person.”

Ginn went on to dispel the statements of Webb’s mother, Donna Roberts, who painted Ginn as jealous of her son.

“I actually felt obligated to be his (Webb’s) friend because he couldn’t make friends as easily as myself,” Ginn said. “He had to buy his friendship as where I didn’t have to.”

Ginn also challenged the victim’s mother’s statement that Webb had once saved him from drowning, saying it was another friend who saved his life. Ginn further maintained he believes Webb may have been the one who threw him in the water to begin with, leading to the near-drowning incident.

“I refuse to sit here and not defend myself,” Ginn wrote. “People are not going to run over me just because I am in jail. I am still a human being.”

Ginn will face his plea or assignment date July 26. That is the day on which Ginn must announce a plea agreement or have a trial date set.