YOUNGSTOWN Attempted murder suspect surrenders to city police

The accused had worked as the victim's handyman.
By JoANNE VIVIANO
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A man wanted in the attempted murder of a woman turned himself in to city police this morning.
Police said Arnold Stone, of Oak Street, surrendered at police headquarters around 7 a.m. and would likely be interviewed. He was wanted on warrants accusing him of attempted murder, aggravated arson and aggravated burglary in the Oct. 3 attack on 49-year-old Barbara Heath at her North Truesdale home.
Heath said Stone, her handyman, waited outside her door around 5:15 a.m. When she opened the door to let her dog in, he beat her with a wooden baseball bat and a mallet, she said. He then set fire to clothing in her basement, police reports say. Heath believes he wanted to rob her.
She added that Stone had locked her dog in the basement during the attack. The dog survived and was taken in by a neighbor.
Upon hearing of the arrest, Heath's sister Karen Collins said, "Praise the Lord." Heath could not be reached to comment. She was treated at St. Elizabeth Health Center after the attack.
She was beaten about the head and also suffered two broken arms. She said last week that she would remain in fear unless Stone was apprehended.
What happened: Heath said Stone had beaten her head and arms as she hid beneath the metal frame of a chair. When the bat cracked, she said, he used the mallet to hit her head. She said she found an ice pick stuck in the back of the chair.
During the attack, Heath's burglar alarm sounded and Stone fled, she said. When Heath saw smoke rising from the basement she left the house to go to a neighbor who summoned help.
City police and firefighters responded. Fire damage was contained to the basement and a small portion of the roof, fire officials said. No one else was in the home at the time.
Police found a bloody bat and pick-type hammer inside the home.
viviano@vindy.com