Judge hears arguments on fingerprint evidence

October 28, 2013 at 7:15p.m.

youngstown

Attorneys for a man accused of murdering three members of a Canfield Township family in 1974 say fingerprint evidence linking James Ferrara to the crime should be thrown out because the person who collected the prints is dead and cannot be cross examined by defense attorneys.

Assistant Prosecutor Rebecca Doherty, however, argued before Judge R. Scott Krichbaum in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court on Monday that the person who collected the print is not needed because others at the crime scene could testify that they saw the evidence collected. Also, she said it was fingerprint analysts for the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation, not the person who collected the print at the crime scene, who matched the prints in 2009 with the 64-year-old Ferrara.

Ferrara who is serving a prison sentence for a double homicide in 1983 in the Columbus area.

Ferrara faces three counts of aggravated murder for the December 1974 murders of Benjamin Marsh, his wife Marilyn and their 4-year-old daughter Heather, inside their South Turner Road home. A 1-year-old son, Christopher, survived.

Anthony Meranto, a lawyer for Ferrara, wants the fingerprint evidence excluded because the technician for BCI who collected the fingerprints from the crime scene in 1974 is dead and cannot be cross-examined.

Doherty argued the motion from a chain of custody issue, saying that there are several witnesses who are still alive who can testify that they were present when the prints were taken, and it is documented where the prints were kept over the years. Doherty also said the person who was able to match them to Ferrara can also testify.