MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A Texas man who was accused of brutally stabbing a Learfield employee to death while he was sleeping in his Morgantown home has been found guilty of first-degree murder.
Jonathan Ramirez, 24, of Watuga, Texas, was found guilty of killing Jacob Lough in his Milford Street home in January 2024, along with charges of burglary and grand larceny for breaking into his home and stealing his white Hyundai Santa Fe. The verdict was announced Thursday afternoon in Monongalia County Circuit Court after the jury deliberated for less than thirty minutes with closing arguments presented by Monongalia County Lead Prosecutor Gabrielle “Gabe” Mucciola and Monongalia County Public Defender Justin Hershberger. This was followed by eight witness testimonies that took place during the ‘life without mercy’ determination, which will now carry over into Friday.
“The defendant wanted to transform fiction into reality to become ‘the nightmare,'” said Mucciola during the closing arguments. “Jacob Lough was awoken for the final time, and a stranger had crept into his bedroom with brass knuckles and a knife in each hand and began brutally, violently, and mercilessly attacking him.”
The prosecution was supported by Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Brendan Benchoff, with the defense supported by Monongalia County Public Defender Andrew Cook.
As part of the closing arguments, Mucciola discussed the numerous pieces of evidence that offered an insight into the mindset of Ramirez the night he murdered Lough, who was 23 at the time of the murder. Not long after he arrived in Morgantown back on January 14, 2024, in an attempt to meet up with a 17-year-old West Virginia girl who he was in a secret online relationship with for a year (she rebuffed his advances upon his arrival), surveillance evidence inside the Hampton Inn on Van Voorhis Road, where he was staying, showed Ramirez walking in what could only be considered a prowling manner sometime in the early afternoon of the next day. This included attempts to stake out victims using money thrown on the ground as well as hiding between doorways while people walked in and out of rooms.
After continuing this action to the point where a complaint was filed, with video surveillance showing him standing in front of a single room for over ten minutes at one point, Ramirez then donned clothing that was meant to copy the Michael Myers character from the Halloween movie franchise (which was confirmed through pictures taken from his cellphone) and proceeded to travel into the Suncrest neighborhood where Lough’s home was located. After staking out multiple homes while overnight snow was falling, video footage that was taken from Lough’s neighbors showed Ramirez walking onto the Milford Street property, where he then proceeded to break into the home and stab Lough over 290 times while he was sleeping (while also leaving the bloody clothes he was wearing, a Halloween mask, as well as two knives and brass knuckles at the scene). Lough’s body was eventually discovered by a coworker who made a welfare check.
“It could’ve been the patrons of room 317 (in the Hampton Inn), where he hid outside of the view of the peephole, with a knife,” said Mucciola. “The same knife he later used to kill and murder Jacob Lough.”
Ramirez was arrested on January 16, 2024, on the grounds of the West Virginia University Statler College of Engineering by WVU Police not long after he parked Lough’s car in a downtown campus parking lot. When he was taken into custody, he was found wearing clothes that were later confirmed to have been owned by Lough while carrying a loaded handgun as well as a knife.
To open the mercy phase of the trial, Morgantown Police Department Detective Ryan Stallings took the stand first, where he reviewed pieces of evidence that not only showed Ramirez was in a disturbed state of mind at the time of the incident but also that he appeared to show signs of homicidal tendencies even when cameras were not on him. This included the discovery of close to a half dozen bottles of different prescription medications as well as numerous writings on hotel room walls and inside a journal that mentioned a desire to kill on multiple pages. This was all added to the various items that were showcased as part of the trial, which included numerous pieces of DNA evidence with a near 99 percent match found in Lough’s home, as well as items that could easily be determined as a tool kit to commit violent acts, which were expressed through writings found after his arrest.
“The defendant’s motive for the horrific and brutal killing of Jacob Lough was written in room 315 (where he was staying before he committed the murder),” said Mucciola. “He told you the motive was to show the world that the boogeyman was real.”
Following the testimony of Stallings, the defense brought both of Ramirez’s parents to the stand, where they individually described a childhood history that could be best described as tumultuous. Living mainly with his mother (who was separated from his father), while his father was admittedly absent for most of his life until he was about 15, Ramirez was described as showing many different signs of mental illness in the years ahead of the murder. This was affirmed by certified psychologist Dr. Christi Cooper-Lehki, who stated that Ramirez was either diagnosed or could be diagnosed with schizo-bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and antisocial personality disorder.
Cooper-Lehki also testified that during the two separate conversations that she had with Ramirez as part of the court-mandated mental health evaluation, he expressed an open desire to kill while either lying or covering up several different aspects of the case (which were eventually confirmed on a second interaction). This included his online relationship with an underage girl and two separate crimes that he openly committed while he was arrested (one of which he pleaded guilty to), as well as what she felt could be called excitement when talking about murdering Lough. Aspects that were openly discussed by the prosecution throughout the trial.
“Now you’ve seen and you’ve met some of the people it could’ve been,” said Mucciola. “Women and young girls (he says) that are easily to manipulate, (referencing statements later affirmed by Cooper-Lehki’s conversations with Ramirez), it could’ve been that unsuspecting woman who picked up the money he threw out trying to lure someone to kill.”
North Central Regional Jail Segregation Sergeant Cody Rippy took the stand next for the prosecution, where he described the situation where Ramirez assaulted him back in April 2024 while he was incarcerated (a crime he received a 60-day concurrent jail sentence for after he pleaded guilty to two counts of battery on a law enforcement officer). As part of his testimony, Rippee stated that this was one of several interactions that were considered combative that occurred while Ramirez has been in custody with an extraction team policy in place for any movements in and out of his cell. This was followed by the testimony of Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department Transport Officer Donald Gorby, who stated that he witnessed Ramirez attempt to sexually assault a female inmate who was in the same vehicle as him for transport. Actions that were confirmed through video evidence, which in turn affirmed statements made by the prosecution during the closing arguments of the guilty verdict.
“To perform the part of the boogeyman that he so idolized, he acted out his own sick fantasy, but you know the truth, and so did he, that the boogeyman isn’t real,” said Mucciola during the closing arguments. “Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, this defendant is.”
Testimonies concluded on Thursday with two longtime friends of Lough who discussed the kind and loving nature of the person they knew for several years. They were supported by over two dozen of Lough’s friends and work colleagues who have attended all three days of the trial, many of whom traveled all the way from Virginia, where he originally grew up, or in some cases farther. The love and support towards a 26-year-old man whose life was needlessly cut short, which was emphasized by the prosecution ahead of the jury’s unanimous decision.
“Jacob was a real human, with real people who loved him, with real friends and real family, he didn’t deserve this,” said Mucciola, addressing the jury. “He wanted to show the world that the boogeyman was real, and now it’s your turn to show him that Mon County justice is real.”
A childhood friend of Lough, as well as both of his parents, is expected to testify in the final portions of the mercy phase of the trial. Court will resume at the Monongalia County Justice Center at 9 a.m. on Friday.