HOWLAND Wife charged with murder

The victim was found shot to death Dec. 13 in his kitchen.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
HOWLAND -- Police charged Donna Roberts with complicity to aggravated murder and a Youngstown man with aggravated murder in the death of her husband, Robert Fingerhut.
Township police and the Trumbull County Sheriff Department's SWAT team arrested Roberts at her Fonderlac Drive home Thursday evening.
They later arrested Nathaniel Jackson of Youngstown, who they said was the shooter. Police said he had been released recently from prison.
Police believe Roberts was an accomplice in Fingerhut's death. Fingerhut's body was found Dec. 13 in the kitchen of his home, 254 Fonderlac. Police said he was shot several times.
Next step: Roberts was taken to the sheriff's department for questioning. Authorities later arrested Jackson. Both were held overnight pending their appearance in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court later today.
Police Chief Steve Lamantia and Sheriff Thomas Altiere declined to give specifics about the arrests.
Roberts called 911 on Dec. 13 to report that she found her husband's body when she returned home.
Police said that it did not appear that anyone broke into the home but that a car belonging to Fingerhut, 57, had been stolen. The car was found Dec. 13 on Pershing Street.
What's suspected: Police believe Fingerhut was shot with a handgun.
Township police obtained a copy of a report filed Nov. 26 by Roberts with Warren police. According to that report, Roberts said her handgun was stolen while she was at a convenience store in Warren.
Fonderlac Drive runs behind the Howland branch of the Butler Institute of American Art in an upscale neighborhood. Neighbors say Fingerhut and Roberts lived there about 2 1/2 years and did not have any children.
Fingerhut managed the Greyhound bus stations in Warren and Youngstown, police said.
According to Vindicator files, Fingerhut and Roberts formerly operated Just the Ticket, a restaurant inside the Western Reserve Transit Authority bus terminal at Federal Street and Fifth Avenue in downtown Youngstown.
sinkovich@vindy.com