Son charged in stabbing

ATHENS, Ohio (AP) — An electrical engineering graduate student at Ohio University has been charged with murder in the stabbing death of his father, a retired OU history professor.

Jonathan Bebb, 32, made an initial appearance Wednesday morning in Athens County Municipal Court, where Judge William Grim set bond at $250,000. If Bebb does make bail, he must stay with his mother, Wilhelmina Lusty, and stepfather, David Lusty, in Athens and have no access to weapons, Grim said.

Bebb remained at Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail in Nelsonville on Wednesday evening, authorities said.

Bebb has been banned from campus and cannot attend classes if he’s released, university spokesman George Mauzy said. Under state law, OU president Roderick McDavis has the authority to suspend any student who poses a threat of safety, a university statement said.

University police on Wednesday posted crime alert fliers with a photo of Jonathan Bebb and a notice asking anyone who spots him on campus to phone police.

Phillip Bebb, 66, died of multiple stab wounds, authorities said. His wife found him on the floor at their Athens home Monday night.

There was a history of animosity between the son and the professor, who feared for his life, prosecutor David Warren said.

Phillip Bebb joined Ohio University’s history department in 1969. He retired in 2004 but had taught a class last year.

“He was one of the most popular undergraduate instructors,” said department chairman Norman Goda. “He was truly a very decent, a very humane and very gentle soul.”