Ex-Sylvania man is found guilty in 1991 Northwood killing

7/24/2006

After four hours of deliberation today, a Wood County jury found a former Sylvania man guilty of the 1991 murder of Deana Meeks, 19, of Northwood.

Ralph Doren, 56, was sentenced to life in prison with eligibility for parole after 20 years by Wood County Common Pleas Judge Reeve Kelsey.

Before sentencing, Larry Meeks, the victim s father, told the court: This has been the longest 15 years of my life. This man took away a friend, an aunt, a niece, but most of all, a daughter.

On June 7, 1991, Doren slashed Miss Meeks throat in her Lester Avenue home that police found had been ransacked. Doren had worked with the boyfriend of the victim s mother and knew the victim.

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