Shawn Keffer

BRIAN DENNIS' STORY

Unfulfilled Dreams

Brian Dennis wanted to make a difference. He wanted to make the world a better, safer place. In 1978, at the age of 18, he decided to follow his brother Paul’s footsteps and joined the army. The first time Brian came home he adorned his uniform to make his mother proud. One day he hoped to come home a hero. Instead Brian was given an honorable discharge. He was too weak and small and the army wanted him to come back when he was older. Brian Dennis would never get the chance. On the night of April 11th, 1980, Shawn Keffer, who had bullied Brian Dennis since the third grade, was determined to bully Brian for the last time. Prior to a party both he and Brian were attending, Keffer hid a shotgun and a knife under the patio of the house where the party was to take place. Later that night those weapons would be used to commit one of the most brutal crimes in Columbus, Ohio’s history.

A Brutal Murder

Keffer did not wait long to make his initial attempt to kill Brian. He attacked Brian during the party, and tried to throw him off a fire escape. Fortunately, Brian’s friend pulled Keffer off before he could plunge Brian to his death. Keffer,would not be deterred from his evil mission. When Brian left the party, Keffer told several people he was going to “Cut Brian’s heart out”. No one believed he was serious. Keffer followed Brian into an alley. Then he stabbed the small, meek 19-year old 72 times. He also threw a concrete slab on Brian’s face. Brian was still breathing so Keffer then put a shotgun to Brian’s head and fired it at point blank range literally blowing half Brian’s face off.

When Keffer came back to the party covered in blood, they knew they should have listened to him. Keffer calmly walked to the attic, changed his clothes, hid the bloody clothes, and went back to the party. When Brian’s friends went to look for Brian, it was too late. They found what was left of Brian’s body in a trash bag. A Saint Bernard was eating Brian’s brain.

No Remorse

At the time of Brian’s murder Keffer was on shock parole for attempted drug trafficking and robbery. He had served only three years of a possible ten-year sentence. He killed Brian just months after his release from prison. Although he refused to admit the crime the evidence was overwhelming. Keffer was found guilty by jury of aggravated murder, the most serious of all murder charges. He escaped the death penalty only because there was no death penalty in Ohio at the time of the crime. Keffer was so proud of what he had done he hid Brian’s autopsy photos in his prison cell to admire until the Ohio Department of Corrections confiscated them. Years later Keffer openly admitted his crime on a local TV program about drugs. During the interview he confessed to all he had done to Brian and showed no emotion as he described his brutal acts. The jury’s aggravated murder conviction years earlier, which resulted in the life sentence, was undoubtedly the correct decision.

Paroled

Brian’s mother fought several times and successfully kept brutal murderer Shawn Keffer behind bars.
In March 2005 something was different. Brian’s mother died in January 2004 and was no longer able to fight for Brian. This was a huge break for Keffer and he knew it. According to an anonymous letter sent to a local reporter the day Brian’s mother died Keffer had a party in the commons area and was high fiving all the inmates. He believed this was the final obstacle to his release. He was correct.

Despite a valiant fight by Brian Dennis’ sister, an opposition letter from Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’ Brien, and letters of protest from eight Ohio Senators, members of the Ohio House of Representatives, law enforcement, and citizens across the United States, Shawn Keffer was released on parole on May 11th, 2005. The letter to notify Brian’s family of Keffer’s release date as well as the details of his parole was never received by the family. The media informed them of the details. After Keffer’s parole we received several reports of Keffer violating his parole conditions. We also received highly confidential Franklin County documents corroborating this information. All calls to the department of corrections and Keffer’s parole officer were ignored. In May 2010 Keffer was removed from parole supervision.

Brian’s Legacy

Brian Dennis’ was our first major case. It was the turning point for our organization. We turned our anger and frustration into a force for positive change. Shortly after Brian’s murderer was paroled we successfully passed Laura’s Law in Ohio. Both the Ohio House of Representatives and Ohio Senate unanimously passed the bill. Brian’s family was there with us when former Ohio Governor Bob Taft signed the bill into law. We continue to work on getting this law passed nationally. In 2008 we successfully drafted and introduced Roberta’s Law into the Ohio Legislature. This law eliminated the secrecy of the Ohio Parole Board, strengthened vitims rights in regards to the parole process, and mandated that Victims Services notify all victims and their families about upcoming parole hearings. Roberta’s Law passed unanimously in both the Ohio House of Representatives and the Ohio Senate and went into effect March 22, 2013. In 2009 we launched Blockparole.com which allows the public to easily voice their opposition to the paroles of dangerous inmates. Most importantly we have assisted in blocking the paroles of well over 100 violent offenders. This includes several child killers, child rapists, and cop killers all who likely would have raped and killed again. It took 25 years however in the end Brian Dennis became exactly what he wanted to be all those years ago. A hero.