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Events leading up to Realtor’s death clarified
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Vivian Martin
The Vindicator ( Youngstown)
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3660 Nelson Ave. on Youngstown's East Side
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Paul Brooks
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Robert Brooks
By John W. GOODWIN JR.
YOUNGSTOWN
Authorities do not believe the Youngstown real-estate agent murdered on the East Side while on the job Monday was beaten before being killed in a house that was set afire.
Dr. Joseph Ohr, forensic pathologist for the Mahoning County coroner’s office, said the cause of death for Vivian Martin, 67, is manual strangulation. Her body was found badly burned inside the house, on Nelson Avenue.
Ohr said it has been determined that certain things did not happen to Martin before she was killed.
“She was dead before the start of the fire,” he said. “To the best of my ability, I don’t believe she was beaten up or molested before she died.”
Ohr said the findings are still preliminary, with final results of tests expected to come in the next few weeks.
Police and prosecutors are expected to file charges against two brothers in the murder. Those charges were expected to be filed Thursday but had not been by late afternoon.
The brothers, viewed by Youngstown police as strong suspects in the murder and suspects in a Boardman robbery of another real-estate agent, remain in the Mahoning County jail on charges unrelated to the murder.
Paul Brooks, 27, and Robert Brooks, 25, both of Youngstown, are accused of robbing a female agent at gunpoint when she showed them an apartment at 4020 Hillman Way.
Robert Brooks was interviewed and admitted being involved in the Boardman robbery, Boardman police said. Both men are expected to be arraigned Tuesday in that case in Mahoning County Area Court in Boardman.
A check of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court records shows that Paul Brooks had no court history before the Boardman robbery charges. Robert Brooks has traffic cases for speeding, according to court records.
Firefighters were called to the Nelson Avenue house just after 2:30 p.m. Monday and found it engulfed in flames. A bystander told firefighters someone likely was trapped inside the building.
Firefighters found Martin on the kitchen floor.
The home had been listed for sale with Essence Realty, owned by Martin.