Wilford Berry Jr.
American murderer (1962–1999)
Wilford Lee Berry Jr. (September 2, 1962 – February 19, 1999) was an American murderer. He was known as "The Volunteer" because he was the first convict to waive his right to appeal his death sentence after Ohio reinstated capital punishment, and was executed by lethal injection. His conviction and sentence stemmed from the November 30, 1989, shooting death of his employer, 52-year-old Charles Mitroff of Cleveland, Ohio.
Crime
As part of his plan to murder Mitroff, Berry supplied his accomplice and co-worker, Anthony Lozar, with a gun and kept a gun for himself. When Mitroff returned to the bakery after making deliveries, Lozar shot him in the torso. When Mitroff fell to the floor injured, Berry approached him and shot him in the head. Berry and Lozar then buried Mitroff in a shallow grave near a bridge and stole his van. After he was arrested in Kentucky driving the stolen delivery van while driving drunk, Berry confessed to police and bragged about the murder to his fellow jail inmates.
At times, Berry offered two different explanations for his actions.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Wilford Berry Jr.” is american murderer (1962–1999). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Wilford, Berry and American, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “american murderer (1962–1999)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 8, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q8001706. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1962, 1999 and 1989.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Wilford Berry Jr.”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Wilford Berry Jr. primary sources, Wilford Berry Jr. archive and Wilford research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Wilford Berry Jr.”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Wilford Berry Jr.” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.