May 7, 2021 – Justin Eastman will spend the rest of his life behind bars for taking the life of 53-year-old Donna Harris.
In court today, Delaware County Prosecutor Melissa Schiffel asked for a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
“Justin Eastman took the life of a beautiful soul the day he lured Donna Harris to a remote field so he could kill her and take her money,” Schiffel said. “ Under the guise of a romantic evening under the stars, Donna followed Justin Eastman to her death. He victimized Donna and her family in the worst way. Justin Eastman is a dangerous and manipulative criminal who deserves nothing less than the maximum possible sentence for his crime, in this case, life in prison without the possibility of parole.”
Donna Harris was reported missing by her family when she could not be reached by phone and failed to arrive to accompany her granddaughter on a school field trip. Her body was found days later on November 24, 2019 in a rural area off Sherman Road. The official cause of death – blunt force trauma to the head.
Eastman, 36, of Columbus, was caught fleeing the state. He was picked up by law enforcement in Kansas on November 25, 2019. It took a jury less than an hour to find him guilty of aggravated murder on April 29, 2021.
