Chief Assistant Prosecutor John Gamble, left, defense attorney Peter Horvath, center, and bailiff Linda Hill look at the shed outside Daniel Landsberger’s trailer. Jurors were taken to see where Quinn Wilson was murdered two years ago. (Salem News photo by Deanne Johnson)

LISBON — A jury trial began Tuesday for Danielle Heckathorn, the woman prosecutors claim to be the mastermind behind the 2015 murder of Quinn J. Wilson, while her attorney claims Wilson was alive and well the last time Heckathorn saw him.

Heckathorn, 30, formerly of Glasgow Road, Lisbon, and currently residing on Butcher Road, Leetonia, is charged with complicity to murder, conspiracy to commit robbery, complicity to robbery, tampering with evidence and three counts of obstructing justice.

Assistant County Prosecutor Ryan Weikart began the opening arguments for the jury by describing the “horrific” discovery made by George Saska, who was walking down Seigler Road in Wayne Township on Wednesday March 11, 2015. Saska reportedly looks out for people dumping trash near his home, but on that occasion he found the two halves of a dead body with the legs near the road and the torso farther down the hill.

Weikart said investigators will say the body later identified as Wilson was beaten in the head with a blunt object so many times the injuries overlapped and it was impossible to tell exactly how many times he was struck. Weikart continued that Wilson died so quickly his brain did not have time to swell.

While prosecutors say it was Daniel Landsberger who committed the murder, they believe from the text messages recovered that it was Heckathorn who set up Wilson. Jurors were not told that last June Landsberger pleaded guilty to murder, gross abuse of a corpse and two counts of tampering with evidence in the death of Wilson.

“The evidence is very clear about who was calling the shots,” Weikart said.

Weikart described Heckathorn as a drug addict who was living with her parents on Glasgow Road, a woman without a job, broke and willing to do anything for her next hit of cocaine. Additionally, Weikart said Wilson was not a typical drug dealer. He was about 5 foot 6 inches tall, 168 pounds and did not have a weapon or a violent gang backing him up. Instead, Weikart said, Wilson was independent and bounced around from place to place.

Weikart said about a week before Wilson died, Heckathorn was sending text messages to Wilson offering to help him with a “business opportunity” and “making major bank.” At the same time, she was sending text messages to Landsberger suggesting a robbery and eventually in a vulgar text she reportedly reveals Wilson as her potential target.

“In less than 40 words, she tells Dan (Landsberger) why Quinn Wilson doesn’t matter to her,” Weikart said, “and why he shouldn’t matter to him.”

Other text messages reportedly included directions to beat Wilson up, knock him out and take his (belongings).

To Heckathorn, Weikart said, Landsberger was a means to an end. Landsberger was a 54-year-old divorced man who lived in a rural area and provided the muscle for her scheme. Landsberger reportedly called Heckathorn his girlfriend and there was evidence of a sexual relationship between them.

After receiving a tip from Landsberger’s neighbor, investigators reportedly found evidence of the murder in Landsberger’s home. However, Weikart said Heckathorn took longer to track down and when investigators interviewed her on March 10, April 24 and Oct. 15, Heckathorn reportedly dodged questions, changed the details of the story and even manipulated the information she learned from investigators to provide more stories.

Eventually, Weikart said, she was proven by a polygraph to have lied about where she was when Wilson was killed.

Peter Horvath, Heckathorn’s defense attorney, challenged that stating a neighbor of Heckathorn’s parents on Glasgow Road saw her dropped off by Landsberger at about 2:30 a.m. March 6 — it is believed Wilson was already dead — and in the darkness the neighbor saw someone get out of the back seat and into the front seat after Heckathorn got out. According to Horvath, Wilson was alive and well when Heckathorn got out.

Additionally, Horvath said Heckathorn’s text messages prove she participated in a conspiracy to rob Wilson but not to kill him. Instead, he said, the three rode around together, went to the Night Court in Lisbon and down to the East Liverpool area to conduct some business.

At some point, Horvath said, Landsberger and Wilson had a fight in a field and a “terrified” Heckathorn left the car for awhile before returning. According to Horvath, Wilson was injured, but alive. She was concerned and got him into the car to warm up.

Finally, Horvath said, Heckathorn admitted to authorities she had Wilson’s phone and that she had witnessed a fight. She willingly gave investigators a DNA sample and her phone. She admitted to deleting some messages.

“There’s a lot more that happened after she got home,” Horvath said. “She never participated in Quinn Wilson’s death.”

djohnson@mojonews.com