Trumbull judge questions woman scheduled to testify against husband in murder case

By Ed Runyan

Staff report

WARREN

Judge Peter Kontos of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court conducted a hearing Friday to begin to determine whether the wife of a man charged with murder will testify at his trial, set for Sept. 8.

Diana Settle, 41, wife of Michael B. Settle, 27, of Sherman Avenue in Niles, told Judge Kontos she agreed to testify at her husband’s trial “to do the right thing.”

The trial had been scheduled to begin last Monday afternoon but was rescheduled as a result of a meeting among the attorneys and Judge Kontos on Monday morning.

John Juhasz, attorney for Michael B. Settle, filed a motion May 1 asking that the judge inquire of Diana Settle as to whether she wished to testify, and also asked for an order precluding her from testifying on the grounds that she is Michael Settle’s wife.

Under questioning by Judge Kontos, Diana Settle said she and Michael Settle were married June 23 — 10 weeks after Michael Settle purportedly shot James R. Levels, 64, of Warren to death and injured Lisa Prater, 48, in Prater’s South Street home April 7.

Diana Settle said she spoke with detectives once about the case before they got married and again about July 1, after their marriage. Michael Settle was arrested about July 23.

When asked about the status of their marriage, she said they are physically separated because of his being in jail, but she plans to file for divorce in the coming weeks.

Diana Settle said she talked with Chris Becker, assistant county prosecutor, about being charged with obstructing justice if she didn’t testify, but she said her decision to testify was not the result of threats or coercion.

Judge Kontos noted that the two statements Diana Settle gave are not identical. He asked the attorneys to write briefs on what the law says about statements given by someone such as Diana Settle shortly before marriage to a suspect and shortly after marriage.

He also asked them to address the admissability of evidence that came from a third party hearing a conversation between Diana Settle and Michael B. Settle.