Austintown man will be tried again for 2002 murder

YOUNGSTOWN — Christopher Anderson won’t be given a get-out-of-jail free card, nor will he escape the prosecution’s sixth attempt to convict him of a 2002 murder.

Today, Judge James C. Evans of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court overruled a defense motion to dismiss the murder charge and free Anderson from the county jail, where he has been kept since his Aug. 22, 2002, arrest.

With Anderson jailed under $500,000 bond, his jury trial is set to begin March 21 before Judge Evans.

“Retrial for the same offense after reversal of a prior conviction does not violate the double jeopardy protection” in the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Judge Evans wrote in his judgment entry.

“If a mistrial is ordered, the case may be tried again at once or at some later time,” the judge wrote, citing state law.

Anderson, 43, of South Main Street, Austintown, is charged in the June 3, 2002, strangulation death of Amber Zurcher in her Austintown apartment.

For the complete story, read Wednesday's Vindicator and Vindy.com