WARREN Son knew his killer, mom says
Police are offering few details in the unsolved homicide and robbery.
By AMANDA C. DAVIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A grieving mother is preparing to bury her 19-year-old son and says she thinks he knew who killed him.
Marcus Lewis Gunther of 1668 Woodbine Ave. S.E. died early Saturday after being shot in the head during what police say was a robbery.
His mother, Jeanette Gunther, said she came home shortly after the shooting, a little before 4 a.m., to find her 13-year-old daughter running out of the house.
The girl told her mother two intruders hit her in the face with a gun and shot her brother in an upstairs bedroom minutes later after demanding he turn over his money.
City police are offering few details, saying they have no firm suspects.
Sgt. Gary Vingle said detectives are working on leads but cannot say what kind of weapon was used or how many times Gunther was shot.
Officials did not say whether the intruders made off with money.
Lt. Michael Vugrincic, in charge of the detective bureau, said Gunther died on the scene.
Gunther had not been in any trouble that police know about, Vugrincic added.
Good kid: "He was a good kid; he didn't drink or smoke," Jeanette Gunther said tearfully this morning. "Everybody loved him."
She said she had been living with her son and explained his girlfriend and another sister, 25, were home at the time of the shooting.
Her son had attended Warren G. Harding High School and worked with an older brother doing yard work. He enjoyed basketball, playing cards and video games, his mother said.
The family is planning funeral arrangements and said Gunther will be missed by everyone who knew him.
Neighbors told the mother the intruders parked their car just down the street from the two-story gray home, which is at the corner of Niles Road.
Jeanette Gunther says she believes the suspects robbed her son because they knew he had money and dressed nice.
"Whoever it was, they knew exactly where to go in the house," she added.
davis@vindy.com