Prosecutor pushes for Larosa murder evidence to be public

WARREN

The criminal complaint and other filings in juvenile court in the aggravated-murder case of Jacob Larosa, 15, of Niles should be treated as public records, Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins says.

“It is the state’s view that the complaint ... and investigatory evidence of probable cause of the crime charged given at the [April 30] preliminary hearing ... is open to public access and disclosure unless good cause is shown to deny access or disclosure,” a Wednesday filing by the prosecutor says.

Watkins filed the comments with Family Court Judge Pamela Rintala in response to a motion by Atty. Rob Kokor on Tuesday that seeks to deny media access to documents in the case. Kokor is serving as public defender for Larosa.

Larosa is charged with

aggravated murder, aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery and attempted rape in the March 31 beating death of Marie Belcastro, 94, of Cherry Street in Niles. Larosa, of Lafayette Avenue, and Belcastro were neighbors.

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