Summit County Court

Jamall Vaughn, 15, of Akron, pleaded guilty Friday to aggravated murder and other charges in connection with the killing of a Springfield Township couple.

(Adam Ferrise, NEOMG)

AKRON, Ohio -- A 15-year-old boy admitted Friday to helping his cousin bludgeon a New Franklin couple to death with a sledgehammer after breaking into their home.

Jamall Vaughn, who was 14 at the time of the killings, pleaded guilty Friday to two counts of aggravated murder, aggravated burglary and aggravated robbery in the murders of Jeffrey and Margaret Schobert.

Summit County Judge Tom Parker could sentence Vaughn to life in prison without parole or with parole eligibility in 20, 25 or 30 years on the murder charge and up to 11 years each on the aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary charges.

Vaughn will be sentenced after his cousin, Shawn Ford, 20. A jury convicted Ford of aggravated murder in October but the sentencing phase stalled while attorneys sort out legal matters.

Ford attacked the Schoberts' daughter, Chelsea Schobert, on March 23, 2013 after she declined to have sex with him during a birthday celebration. Chelsea Schobert was Ford's girlfriend at the time.

The attack left Chelsea Schobert hospitalized at Akron Children's Hospital for a month. The Schoberts talked and sometimes argued with their daughter about them barring Ford from seeing their daughter.

Ford and Vaughn climbed through a bedroom window to the Schobert's home on April 1, 2013. They grabbed a sledgehammer from the garage and beat Jeffrey Schobert with it 14 times, killing him, after he returned home from the hospital.

Ford and Vaughn then played video games and drank soft drinks while they waited for Margaret Schobert to return home. Ford then sent text messages to Margaret Schobert from Jeffrey Schobert's phone asking her when she was coming home.

Margaret Schobert came home about 6 a.m. on April 2 and Ford and Vaughn struck her 19 times with a sledgehammer, prosecutors said.

A jury found Ford guilty at trial. They later recommended Ford be put to death. Ford's defense attorneys argued Ford's IQ is too low for him to be executed. Testimony at trial put Ford's IQ between 62 and 80. Parker ordered more evaluations, which are still pending.