Man pleads guilty to assault in hatchet attack on wife

YOUNGSTOWN -- A 38-year-old city man who attacked his estranged wife with a hatchet is awaiting sentencing in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
Fred Johnson of West Woodland Avenue pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of felonious assault.
Judge Robert Lisotto ordered a background check before sentencing, which will be done by Judge R. Scott Krichbaum.
Assistant Prosecutor Deena Calabrese said Johnson saw his estranged wife, Elizabeth, leaving a relative's house on Thorne Street in July.
Thinking she was leaving to see another man, he became angry and chased her back inside the house she had just left, Calabrese said.
Johnson then used a hatchet to strike the woman several times in the back of her head, her back and her side. She survived the injuries.
Defense attorney Louis DeFabio said Johnson confessed to police, and there were several witnesses to the crime. Johnson truly felt remorseful about what happened, which is why he pleaded guilty, the lawyer added.
"He's wanted to do this almost from day one," DeFabio said. "He says he did it, he feels bad that he did it, and he's going to accept his punishment."
Under Ohio law, he faces two to eight years in prison. The sentence will depend on the outcome of the background check.