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Lake Milton man indicted in stabbing
Lake Milton man
indicted in stabbing
The manslaughter charge says the victim provoked the killer.
YOUNGSTOWN — The Mahoning County grand jury has indicted a Lake Milton man in the Feb. 7 stabbing death of a Diamond man in Lake Shore Plaza in Lake Milton.
On Thursday, the grand jury indicted Edward A. Miller Jr., 20, of Roselawn Drive, on charges of voluntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence in the death of 28-year-old Eric E. Showalter.
Showalter and Miller agreed to meet in the plaza for a fight across Mahoning Avenue from El Carlos Mexican Restaurant at 9 p.m. at the end of Miller’s shift as a chef and bus boy, police said.
Miller emerged from the eatery with a restaurant-owned knife, which he was not authorized to take, police said.
Showalter arrived at the scene with a 2-foot club, apparently made from a wooden hatchet handle, which was used in the fight, police said. Showalter died from a single stab wound to the chest, said the county coroner, who ruled the case a homicide.
Miller and Showalter had a long-standing dislike for each other, in part because of an incident last fall, in which Showalter injured his fiancee, Krysta L. Miller, who is Edward Miller’s sister, police said.
The voluntary manslaughter charge, which carries a three-to-10-year prison term, alleges that Miller fatally stabbed Showalter “in a sudden fit of rage” brought on by provocation from Showalter.
The evidence tampering charge, which carries a one-to-five-year prison term, alleges Miller removed or concealed the knife from authorities after the stabbing. Miller allegedly threw the knife into a trash receptacle.
Also indicted Thursday were three suspects charged in a Jan. 30 break-in at the home of Darlene DeChellis on Bradford Drive in Canfield, who interrupted and foiled the burglary. Charged with burglary in that incident were John Douglas, 34, of Lenox Avenue; his sister-in-law, Joanne Douglas, 39, also of Lenox Avenue; and Richard S. Cummings, 35, of Lynn Avenue.
Cummings and John Douglas were also charged with possessing criminal tools, namely cellular phones, in connection with that incident, in which police said DeChellis came home unexpectedly, surprised John Douglas inside, and chased him to his getaway car, in which Cummings waited behind the wheel.
Joann Douglas, who was DeChellis’ cleaning woman and knew DeChellis’ routines, helped Cummings and John Douglas plan the burglary, police said.
Cummings and John Douglas are also charged with breaking and entering New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day at the DeChellis Restaurant in New Middletown, where John Douglas was additionally charged with theft of more than $500.