Facebook posts are issue in Ohio stabbing trial

CLEVELAND (AP) — A jury here will decide if a 19-year-old man acted in self-defense when he fatally stabbed another man after a Facebook fight over a woman.

Christopher Dowen is standing trial in Cleveland in the June 30 death of 18-year-old Prentice Dietrich-Smith at his home in Euclid, east of Cleveland.

The News-Herald of Willoughby reports that an escalating argument on Facebook over Dowen’s fiance — whom Deitrich-Smith had dated — are an issue in the trial, specifically one Dowen posted earlier that day threatening to beat up the other man.

The stabbing happened after Dowen showed up at Dietrich-Smith’s home.

Dowen’s attorney told the judge that neither man should be judged by the “stupid” Facebook postings. He said Dowen killed the other man in self-defense. Prosecutors disagree.