Howland man to be arraigned in bludgeoning death of sister

December 19, 2013 at 7:18p.m.

HOWLAND

Bradley E. Milligan, 48, is charged with the murder of his sister, Laura L. Michael, 51, and will be arraigned this afternoon in Warren Municipal Court.

Howland police went to the home Milligan and his sister shared at 8762 Howland Springs Road at 4:06 p.m. Wednesday after Michael’s daughter called, asking them to check on her because she had not heard from her mother in a couple of days.

Milligan answered the door and said he “had not seen his sister” that day. However, Howland police received permission to search the house, and they found Michael dead, hidden in a corner of the basement, according to Howland police.

Michael had been “bludgeoned to death,” Police Chief Paul Monroe said, adding that the assaults came from someone’s hands and possibly from an “edged” item.

Police took Milligan into custody on warrants from Franklin County and from Warren Municipal Court. He is in the Trumbull County jail.

Milligan has lived with his sister and in Columbus for about two years, Monroe said.

In June 2012, Howland police were called to the home for a domestic dispute involving Milligan and Michael — in which Michael said Milligan had threatened to kill her.

Michael said Milligan asked her to buy him beer, but she didn’t, causing Milligan to threaten to stab the tires of her car with an iron rake. She fled from the house in her car but returned that evening.

After “hours of verbal abuse,” she called police, prompting Milligan to grab her arm, grab the phone out of her hand and throw it on the kitchen floor, breaking it. At the same time, he threatened to kill her, she said. Michael suffered a wrist injury but refused treatment.

Police arrested Milligan by breaking down the door to his downstairs bedroom, where he had locked himself in. He was charged in Warren Municipal Court with domestic violence and later pleaded no contest, receiving a sentence of three years’ probation and 30 days in the county jail.