Third judge is assigned to Yaeger case

Staff report

STRUTHERS

A new judge has been assigned to a vehicular- homicide case involving the death of a Campbell businessman.

Whitney Yaeger, 20, of Springfield Township is charged in the death of Dave Muslovski, 55, also of Springfield Township and owner of Iron City Wood Products. She ran over him on Middletown Road the morning of June 17, 2010, and later told an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper she had been texting, a police report says. Muslovski had been out for a walk.

A pretrial hearing for Yaeger has been postponed three times, the last time because visiting Judge Diane Vettori recused herself from the case, which is being heard in Struthers Municipal Court.

Judge Vettori told the Ohio Supreme Court in a letter that she did not realize her niece is acquainted with Yaeger, the Struthers clerk of courts office said.

The Supreme Court has assigned retired Judge Michael James McNulty to hear the case.

He is the third judge to preside. Struthers Judge James Lanzo recused himself because he is a friend of the Muslovski family and was representing Muslovski’s wife in a civil issue related to the case.

The city law director, Carol Clemente Wagner, also recused herself from the case. Family members had complained that Yaeger’s attorney, John Yuhasz, had once represented Clemente Wagner in a legal matter. Visiting prosecutor Ross Smith took over the case in January. The pretrial date was moved from January to March to April. A new date has not yet been set.