Woman pleads guilty in death of Warren man

As originally charged, the defendant could have been sentenced to life.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Sentencing is likely to be early next year for a Hilton Avenue woman who has pleaded guilty in the May 2000 death of Steven Skinner Jr. of Warren.
Bobbie Beal, 26, appeared Friday before Judge James C. Evans of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court and entered pleas as part of an agreement reached with the county prosecutor's office.
The agreement reduces an aggravated-murder charge to involuntary manslaughter. It leaves in place charges of kidnapping, aggravated robbery and aggravated arson.
In exchange for Beal's plea, assistant Prosecutor Jay Macejko recommended a 10-year sentence. Judge Evans is not bound to accept that recommendation, however.
He noted he will have the option of imposing a maximum 10-year sentence on each charge.
About the crime
Had Beal been convicted of the original charges against her, she faced a maximum 66 years to life in prison.
Macejko said Beal, who remains free on bond, likely will be sentenced in January. A date has yet to be set.
Beal's plea comes after she rejected the same agreement earlier this week. She later changed her mind.
Prosecutors say Beal was one of four people who lured Skinner, 24, to a house on Youngstown's South Side. There, he was beaten, robbed and forced to climb into the trunk of his own car.
The vehicle was driven to a remote East Side area, where it was doused with gasoline and set ablaze with Skinner locked inside.
The other three people charged in Skinner's death already have been sentenced.