For the family and friends of one Ohio woman, Columbus Day will always be remembered as the day that she was killed. The woman’s body was found in a vacant lot, and according to reports, the 30-year-old woman had been stabbed over 60 times. A man that was living in the same home with her has been arrested on felony charges as a result.
The man admittedly has a violent past. Back in 1979, a store owner was robbed and murdered. The man that was arrested in this case was convicted of that crime and was serving a life sentence. However, he was paroled in 2009. Society can often make it difficult on a man that has been accused of such a crime to move on with his life.
As if to illustrate this fact, since his release from prison in 2009, he has been accused of rape three times. In each of those cases, he was found to be innocent. Now, police have alluded to the fact that it was this man’s past transgressions that could have made him a suspect in the murder of this Ohio woman. If authorities believe they have evidence that points to this man as the killer that should be the focus of their investigation, not what he may or may not have done back in 1979.
Just because a person has been to prison for murder does not mean that he or she is capable of harming anyone today. So far, there has been no indication from authorities what possible motive this man could have for killing the woman he lived with. As far as his defense against the current felony charges is concerned, his past criminal act should not be a factor in this present case. That murder and robbery occurred more than 37 years ago. Prosecutors will need to prove its case by relevant and competent evidence based upon what occurred now, as opposed to what may have occurred in an unrelated criminal proceeding dating back to 1979.
Source: wfmj.com, Youngstown murder victim stabbed more than sixty times, No author, Oct. 18, 2013