WARREN — A former Warren G. Harding girls basketball coach is requesting parole from his 15-years-to-life sentence after his conviction in the strangulation death of his wife, Deana, at their Warren home in May 2004.

David Jenkins, 58, who is housed at Marion Correctional Institution, is scheduled for his first hearing before the Ohio Parole Board this month, and assistant Trumbull County Prosecutor Christopher Becker wrote a letter advising the board about his office’s opposition to Jenkins’ release.

In his letter, Becker states facts of the case were very straightforward. It was well known in the community that Jenkins and his wife were having marital problems, and Deana had told a number of close friends by May 2004 she was leaving her husband.

Becker’s letter states the events of the day 39-year-old Deana Jenkins died:

• On May 20, 2004, David Jenkins, who was a minister, had canceled a date to give the benediction at a Kiwanis Club dinner that night, stating he had a sick family member. Later that day, Jenkins had sent his son, Durrell, to fill out job applications and took his daughter, Desirae, to his parents’ home, telling her he had a meeting at a local recreation center.

• About 5:45 p.m., the defendant was seen at his home with his wife by a friend of Deana’s. The friend left because Deana told her that she and her husband were having a “family discussion” That friend at 5:55 p.m. was the last person other than David Jenkins to see Deana alive, according to Becker’s letter.

• About 6:25 p.m. another friend of the victim, who lived in Austintown, received a phone call from Deana Jenkins who said she was having trouble breathing. The friend from Austintown called a mutual friend closer to the Jenkins’ home to check on Deana. That friend couldn’t get inside the locked Clearwater Street home about 6:40 p.m. Shortly after, other people arrived and one gained access to the home through an upstairs window. A cursory search of the house, didn’t turn up the victim but her purse was found in the master bedroom on the bed.

• After 7 p.m, David Jenkins was back at his parents’ house to pick up his daughter to go shopping for basketball uniforms. The daughter told authorities her father was nervous and was sweating profusely and was wearing new shoes and clothes from the last time she saw him a few hours earlier. He also had a fresh scratch on his nose, the daughter told authorities.

• When David Jenkins reached his house, he learned that his wife was missing and he told the friends to leave the house and go look for her, the letter from Becker states. The friends thought it was strange to see the defendant leave but then double back to the home. They followed him and later found Deana’s cellphone and purse in a trash can in the rear of the home.

• Just after 8:30 p.m., Deana Jenkins was found dead, a strangulation victim, and stuffed in a closet in the daughter’s bedroom. Becker’s letter said fingernail scrapings of the victim contained the DNA from the defendant.

At trial, Jenkins did not take the stand and no witness was presented in his defense. David Jenkins had no alibi and didn’t say where he was from 5:55 p.m. until 7:02 p.m. the day his wife died. He was found guilty by a jury and sentenced to 15 years to life.

The trial started on Feb. 27, 2006, and lasted until March 10, 2006. The jury deliberated three days, Becker noted.

“He never once has taken responsibility for the murder and has never once apologized to the family of Deana,” Becker wrote.

Becker’s letter noted before trial, the defense had initiated a plea offer for manslaughter with a sentence of five years. Becker said the court rejected that proposal.

Jenkins’ appealed his conviction to the 11th District Court of Appeals, which sided with the jurors. The Ohio Supreme Court in 2007 ruled it would not hear the case and stated no trial errors were found.

According to Becker, the Warren Police Department — and in particular detective Gary Vingle — did a fantastic job of preparing this case.

“This was probably the hardest and most emotional case I have ever been involved in in my 30 years as a prosecutor,” Becker said in noting the “incredibly emotional testimony” of Jenkins’ son and daughter testifying against their father for the murder of their mother.

Accepting the allegation of the facts given, Jenkins’ former attorney Jerry Ingram said it was a “crime of passion,” and he thinks Jenkins should be released.

Meanwhile, Becker said he feels there’s no reason to release Jenkins, especially because of his lack of remorse and refusal to apologize to anyone.

“To release him at the earliest time allowed by law would be to reward him for purposely taking the life of another and to punish (the victim and her family),” Becker wrote.