The Abduction and Murder of Sierah Joughin

For this case I watched another episode of Living A Nightmare. It’s season 1 episode 1, titled ‘The Long Way Home.’

A 20 year old woman disappears after a bike ride.

Background

Sierah Joughin was born on February 11, 1996. She lived in the small town of Delta, Ohio, and graduated from Evergreen High School in 2014. After high school, she attended the University of Toledo, but before he junior year, decided to finish her degree from home.

Sierah was described as very confident, outgoing and comfortable with who she was.

The Disappearance

On July 19, 2016, Sierah told her mom that she was going to go bike to her boyfriend Josh’s house. Sierah’s mom Sheila said she left around 5pm, and was excited to ride her new bike that she had just bought from a garage sale.

Around 9:30pm, Sheila returned home from a class she was attending. She said when she pulled up to the house, she noticed that Sierah’s light wasn’t on in her room. She didn’t think anything of it at first, and just thought she was still at Josh’s.

At 10:30pm, Josh called Sheila, asking if Sierah was home. He said he couldn’t get in contact with her, and that she left his house before 7pm. It was unusual for Sierah not to answer her phone.

Her family immediately called all of her friends, posted on Facebook and called local hospitals. They called the police about 4 hours later.

*Sierah and Josh, and a photo taken by Josh, on the day she disappeared.*

The Investigation

The first person that police and FBI wanted to speak to was Josh, Sierah’s boyfriend. Josh said they left his home at 6:43pm, and he rode his motorcycle alongside her bike. Josh said they went their separate ways when they were close to her home. He then couldn’t get a hold of her for several hours.

Around midnight, an officer out searching, noticed a section of corn had been knocked over. He got out of his car, and walked into the cornfield. There was an overwhelming smell of gas, and a small fuse box was found.

The officer continued his search, and found men’s sunglasses, and Sierah’s bike. There were blood stains on the bike handles and seat. Sierah’s green sock and an orange handled screwdriver, also with blood on it was found.

These items were found a half mile from her home. The police now believed Sierah was abducted.

The First Suspect

The officer had also found tire marks from a motorcycle, leading into the ditch on the roadway.

A local farmer called the police when he found a motorcycle helmet. The farmer said he had his son pick it up. The helmet had blood on the inside and outside of it.

The police knew Josh had been riding his motorcycle alongside Sierah. They went to his home, and he allowed them to search his house, truck, motorcycle and clothes. They did find bloody coveralls, but it was animal blood from a day of hunting.

Josh was cleared as a suspect, and said he never would’ve hurt her. He had planned to marry Sierah someday. He said he was angry, but understood that the police had to clear any possible leads and suspects.

A Suspicious Van

About 16 hours into the investigation, Josh told the police that he had seen a suspicious large white van near the crime scene. He said it would slow down, but when he followed it, it sped up.

Josh was able to give the police a partial license plate number. It came back to a woman, who said she thought someone was trying to drive her off the road. The van was searched, and police used BlueStar to search for any signs of blood. The van and the woman were eventually cleared, and had not been involved.

A Violent Offender

It had now been a few days, and the police had no answers. The FBI decided to search for any individuals in the area that were either sex offenders or violent offenders, who lived near the crime scene.

The search led them to a man named James Worley. He lived with his mom on about an acre of land. The property also had several barns near the main house. A team of agents went to the home to speak to James.

When they arrived, James was immediately agitated. The police told him that they were there because there was a missing girl. James said “I’m not out here killing chicks.” He agreed to let them search the property.

In one of the barns, James had a workshop, where he fixed motorcycles and did engine repairs. Throughout the search, James couldn’t keep his mouth shut, and in this episode, his commentary was played.

On one end of the barn, one of the agents noticed that the dirt had just been raked. There was also several bails of hay, and when they were moved, a wooden green box with chicken wire was found. Inside the crate was lingerie, and a pair of underwear that had blood in it.

James was taken down to the police station for questioning, while police continued to search the property.

What Happened to Sierah?

During his interview, James denied knowing Sierah, and said he had never even seen her. He told the police that the items in the crate was for a porn production idea that he was creating.

Inside the barn, the police found an air mattress, sexual devices and a freezer under some plywood. Sierah wasn’t found in the freezer, but the police believed it had been cleaned out because it smelled like bleach.

James had an answer for everything. He told the police that the mattress was for camping. However, the police believed James had a murder kit in every inch of that barn. They also found zip ties, rope, a ski mask and duct tape. Sierah was not located anywhere on that property.

She was eventually found on July 22, in a shallow grave. She had been tied up, had a gag in her mouth and wearing an adult diaper. The underwear found in James’ barn was hers. Sierah’s cause of death had been asphyxiation, and there was no sign of sexual assault.

Arrest and Conviction

James was arrested the same day that Sierah was located. He was charged with abduction and murder.

The prosecution believed that James saw Sierah on July 16, riding her bike, and struck her with his helmet. She had a hairline fracture on her skull, which proved she was struck with something. He then tied her up in the field, went home to get his truck, and took her back to his home. Sierah’s DNA was found on the air mattress, in the underwear and on a piece of duct tape. The tape also had James’ DNA on it. There was also a key to the handcuffs that was used on Sierah. James had a matching key on his keychain.

On March 27, 2018, James Worley was found guilty on 19 charges, which included aggravated murder. He was sentenced to death, but was granted a temporary stay of execution after he appealed his sentence.

In July 2020, his sentence was upheld.