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Judge gives defense time limit on house where girl, grandparents killed
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
A Powers Way home where three people were killed in an arson earlier this year has raised neighbors’ concerns over rats and safety issues, a judge was told Wednesday.
Because of this, defense attorneys for the man accused of setting the fatal fire have until Nov. 7 for their experts to perform tests on the home so the structure eventually can be demolished.
Judge Maureen A. Sweeney gave attorneys the time limit Wednesday during a pretrial hearing in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court for Robert Seman.
Prosecutors said neighbors are complaining about rats being drawn to the home where Corinne Gump, 10, and her grandparents, William and Judith Schmidt, were killed in a March 30 arson. Prosecutors said they were told by the city health department of neighbors’ concerns about the house.
Tom Zena and Lynn Maro, Seman’s lawyers, had asked that the house be spared from demolition so their experts could run tests on it. Maro said the pair would be meeting with experts and selecting them Friday. The judge said she wants the testing done by the next pretrial hearing – Nov. 7 – so the home can be demolished.
Maro said they can have their tests completed by then.
Seman, 46, of West Calla Road in Green Township, could face the death penalty if convicted of aggravated murder in the deaths of Corinne and her grandparents. Seman faces 10 counts of aggravated murder, all with death-penalty specifications, as well as additional charges of aggravated burglary and aggravated arson.
He is accused of raping the girl and was on house arrest after posting $200,000 bond. The fire occurred the day jury selection in his case was to begin. His bond immediately was revoked that day because prosecutors told Judge Sweeney that Seman’s ex-wife had told police that Seman offered her money if she would tell prosecutors during the trial that the girl made up the allegations.
Seman would face life in prison if he is convicted only of rape. Those charges are still pending.
Two counts of bribery were added as well, and the aggravated murder and other charges were issued June 11 after lab reports from the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation found the fire at the Schmidt home was an arson.
Seman is eligible for the death penalty because, among other factors, he is charged with killing the witness to a crime, and with killing someone in the commission of another felony, in this case the aggravated burglary or aggravated arson.