With two years passed since Ohio State student Chase Meolas murder, the trial took a step forward towards a verdict. Credit: Barbara J. Perenic | Columbus Dispatch via TNS
The man who fatally shot Chase Meola, then a 23-year-old fifth-year in marketing, at an off-campus fraternity party Oct. 11, 2020, was sentenced to at least 15 years in prison on Friday.
Kinte Mitchell Jr. was arrested the night of the shooting and initially pleaded not guilty. On Friday, Mitchell withdrew his initial plea and accepted a plea deal, pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter with a three-year firearm specification — a felony of the first degree.
Additionally, Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Jeffrey Brown sentenced Mitchell to an indefinite sentence of a minimum of 15 years in prison, with a maximum of 20.5, according to court documents.
Margaret Meola, Chase’s mother, declined to comment until litigation is over. On the “Buckeyes for a Safe Ohio State” Facebook page, however, she posted an update Thursday about Mitchell’s sentencing, saying the family is “not happy with the plea but thought it best to get a guilty decision and not put the eye witnesses through any more trauma.”
“I am begging every parent and every student to get involved and sign the petition,” she continued in the post. “It has been three years since my [son’s] brutal murder an eye shot from the school and the brutality continues. Doesn’t matter if [you’re] in a group, does not matter if it is a night, does not matter if it is on the day your kids are in danger! This is not what you were dreaming of when you sent your kids off for a college experience. Don’t wait until your child is a victim to get involved!!”
According to reports from the night of the shooting, there was an altercation outside of the party hosted by then-suspended fraternity Phi Kappa Psi after Chase Meola asked Mitchell and those who accompanied him to leave. As a result, Chase Meola was shot and killed in the parking lot.
Prior to the incident, Mitchell had a criminal record, including an indictment for robbery. Mitchell was released from jail on bond for the charge three days prior to the shooting.
Two years after Chase Meola’s death, his parents attempted to sue Ohio State and Phi Kappa Psi for creating “dangerous conditions,” but the case was dismissed.
Chase Meola was also awarded a posthumous degree and a memorial was constructed in the quad near the Fisher College of Business in 2021. A push for a safer campus came from students and especially parents following his death, including the addition of safety installations such as lights and cameras, increasing the popularity of the Buckeyes for a Safe Ohio State Facebook page.
