Youngstown records 12th homicide of 2016

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

A 53-year-old Palmer Avenue man whose decomposing body was found by police in a fruit cellar of his basement shortly after 11 p.m. Friday was killed with a knife or cutting instrument.

The victim is the city’s 12th homicide of the year. This compares to 13 homicides by this time in 2015.

Police went to the home in the 700 block of Palmer, just off South Avenue, after the victim’s daughter reported that she had not seen or heard from her father since Tuesday, which she said was unusual.

Officers noticed the grass in the yard was high. The victim’s daughter said her father mowed his grass almost every other day.

Police had her wait outside while they entered the home.

According to the police report, when the unlocked door to the first floor was entered, officers smelled an odor of decomposition, possibly of a human or an animal. A search of the second floor of the home revealed nothing.

Police returned to the patio and opened a second door, which led to the basement. In the southeast corner, police discovered a fruit cellar with what appeared to be blood coming from underneath the door.

Officers opened the door and discovered the victim’s body. Detectives and the Mahoning County Coroner’s office were notified.

Police did not reveal the name of the victim or the cause of his death. No arrests have been made.