Ohio man's trial starts for strangling his grandmother

VAN WERT, Ohio (AP) — A prosecutor in northwestern Ohio says a man accused of strangling his grandmother and stealing her money told investigators that they had argued before he killed her.

The murder trial for 37-year-old Shawn Jones of Van Wert got under way Monday.

Jones has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. His lawyer says Jones was not at his grandmother’s house at the time when the coroner says she died.

The Lima News reports that Jones was staying with his 84-year-old grandmother while her husband was out of town last October.

A county prosecutor said Monday that Jones tossed his grandmother around the room before wrapping an electrical cord around her neck.