Murder trial set to begin March 7

Staff report

WARREN

The defense and prosecution are preparing to move forward with a March 7 trial in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court on aggravated murder charges against Marquese J. Floyd, 26, of Youngstown.

Floyd, of Atkinson Avenue, is accused in the Nov. 15, 2009, killings of Wilneice L. Green, 28, and her 13-year-old daughter, Ja-Brajasia, in their Northgate Drive home in Liberty.

If Floyd is convicted on the charges, which include two counts of aggravated murder and single counts of aggravated burglary and tampering with evidence, he could be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Officials said Floyd’s hearing this week was the last one scheduled before his trial.

Floyd is one of six people charged in the crime, which prosecutors said was motivated by a desire to retaliate against Semmie Shorter, 38, who visited the Green home, for allegedly sexually assaulting a female relative of Floyd’s and Denise Jackson, 26, of Trumbull Court, Liberty.

Shorter committed suicide after the killings.

Jackson and three others already have pleaded guilty to their role in the crime and await sentencing.

The alleged triggerman in the crime, Melvin L. Turner, 36, of Maryland, has been locked up in a Baltimore-area jail on unrelated charges since late November 2009.

Chris Becker, assistant Trumbull County prosecutor, said Turner will remain there until after Floyd’s trial.