Sierah Joughin was abducted and murdered by James Worley after going missing in 2016. Her killer reportedly abducted Robin Gardner who later survived. Details explored.
Sierra Joughin disappeared during a bike ride in 2016 and it was later revealed she was abducted and murdered during the summer of 2016, before her junior year of college, by James Worley.
He had been arrested twice prior. First, he was jailed in the 1990s for kidnapping a young woman, Robin Gardner, who later survived, and in the 2000s, he was arrested and jailed for cultivating marijuana plants and possessing weapons while on disability, both felonies at that time.
Here’s more on Sierah Joughin’s murder and Robin Gardner’s abduction and where killer, James Worley is right now.
Who was Sierah Joughin?
Sierah Catherine Joughin was born on February 11, 1996, in Sylvania, Ohio, US.
Her parents are Sheila Vaculik and Tom Joughin.
Often called by her friends and family with the moniker, Ce, she graduated from Evergreen High School in 2014.
The 20-year-old student at the University of Toledo in Ohio. She was in the Junior College of Business department studying human resource management and interning at her uncle’s metal stamping business.
She had a boyfriend named Josh Kolasinski whom she had been dating for several years.
Kellee Laser
What happened to Sierah Joughin?
As ABC News reported, Joughin went missing after riding her bicycle home from her boyfriend’s house on the evening of July 19, 2016.
Kolasinski had followed her in his motorcycle for part of the trip, but at her request, the two parted ways close to her home in Metamora, Ohio.
He told the outlet: “I remember exactly what I said. I kissed her, I told her I loved her and to text me when she got home.”
However, when Joughin did not arrive home, her family called the police.
That same evening, a sheriff’s deputy located her purple bicycle in a cornfield a half mile away from the home, per ABC News.
Authorities searched the cornfield and found multiple clues, including a screwdriver, a set of fuse boxes, a sock, men’s sunglasses, motorcycle tracks, “and evidence of a struggle indicated by broken cornstalks and cornstalks with streaks of blood on them.”
Investigators then acquired a bloodstained helmet from a farmer who located it on the side of the road the night of Joughin’s disappearance.
After ruling out Kolasinski as a suspect, police looked into James Worley, who lived on the same road as Joughin.
As the outlet reported, investigators said Worley behaved suspiciously towards them after they showed up at his home. He also made self-incriminating statements.
Cleveland FBI agent Devon Lossick told ABC News: “Mr. Worley makes a statement about how he was riding his motorcycle. And his bike is having issues.
“It sputters out. He goes into a cornfield. And he mentions that he lost his helmet, his fuses, his screwdriver and his sunglasses.
“I kind of had to stop my jaw from falling. None of that had been released to the media yet.”
Authorities executed a search warrant on Worley’s barn. They located a crate filled with women’s lingerie and an empty, blood-stained freezer buried underground, per the publication.
On July 22, 2016, her body was found tied up, bound, and gagged in a shallow grave in a different cornfield two miles from Worley’s residence.
He was then also charged with aggravated murder, kidnapping, and felonious assault, according to ABC News.
The outlet continues: “Based on the forensic evidence collected at the abduction site and Worley’s barn, investigators believe Worley passed by Joughin on his motorcycle, hid in a cornfield further up the road, then attacked Joughin as she rode by on her bicycle, hitting her in the head with his helmet.
“They believe Worley then left the scene and returned with his truck, abducted her, and took her to his barn, where he kept her until she asphyxiated and then disposed of her body.”
Police also said that DNA found on the items acquired as evidence connected each crime scene to Worley and Joughin.
A 20/20 episode about Joughin’s case titled She Was Almost Home will premiere on Friday, October 27, 2023, at 9 p.m. EST on ABC and will be available for streaming the next day on Hulu.
Who was Robin Gardner and how was she related to the case?
At the age of 26, Robin Gardner was abducted by Worley “under eerily similar circumstances” as Joughin in 1990, per ABC News.
Worley pleaded guilty to abducting Gardner and served three years in prison.
Gardner, who survived the attack, later testified in court at the murder trial for Worley.
She told the outlet: “I felt very strongly I had to be [Sierah’s] voice. I knew the fear. She wasn’t there. I had to speak for her.”
20/20 viewers will hear Gardner’s story during the Friday, October 27 episode about Joughin’s case.
Who is James Worley?
Convicted murderer James Dean Worley was born on April 8, 1959, in Tacoma, Washington.
He graduated from Evergreen High School in Metamora, Ohio, in 1978.
Worley, 64, had a low grade in school and he attributed his 1.59 grade-point average to being a frequent user and seller of marijuana from the age of 14.
He worked various jobs in Toledo, Ohio, as a farmer in Delta, and as a grounds crew member for several county fairs.
Having served prison terms for the second time, he started a small business at his residence and was licensed as a trailer transporter.
Where is James Worley now?
After already being jailed and released twice, on July 22, 2016, Worley was arrested and charged with Joughin’s abduction.
The jury found Worley guilty on all counts against him; he was charged with aggravated murder, kidnapping, and felonious assault, according to ABC News.
Murderer James Worley, who gagged and hog-tied Sierra Jouglin in a shallow cornfield grave, sits on death row today and is awaiting execution. His conviction was upheld by the Ohio Supreme Court, but Worley is now exploring a federal appeal.