Supreme court considers another attempt to convict an Austintown man in the 2002 murder of a Youngstown State University student

By Marc Kovac

news@vindy.com

COLUMBUS

The state’s high court must decide whether to allow prosecutors another attempt to convict an Austintown man in the 2002 slaying of a Youngstown State University student.

Christopher Anderson has asked that the case be dismissed, after one earlier conviction was overturned and a handful of other trials ended in a mistrial or with hung juries.

It’s been 5,031 days since Anderson was arrested and charged, his attorney, John Juhasz, told the Ohio Supreme Court during oral arguments Tuesday.

“I haven’t found a case, quite frankly, your honor, where a defendant was pending trial this long,” he said.

Prosecutors have countered that there’s strong evidence linking Anderson to the crime, and they can continue to seek a conviction when juries deadlock during earlier proceedings.

Amber Zurcher, 22, was found dead on the floor of her Austintown apartment in June 2002. She was lying naked near the door, likely strangled with a cord or wire, according to documents.

Anderson was among people who had partied at Zurcher’s apartment hours before and was later arrested in connection with her slaying.

During subsequent legal proceedings, prosecutors presented DNA samples connecting Anderson to Zurcher – evidence found under the victim’s fingernails and a bite wound on her left breast.

“Only [Anderson’s] DNA was found in the breast wound,” according to documents, which added later, “... there is strong evidence as to the appellant’s guilt.”

And on the day of Zurcher’s funeral, witnesses noticed scratches on Anderson’s hands and arms that were not there earlier.

Anderson’s legal counsel, however, countered in documents that there was no evidence to show that Anderson killed the victim or to explain how he gained entrance to her apartment, which was locked from the inside, with no signs of forced entry.

An initial trial ended in a mistrial after a witness mentioned an encounter between Anderson and another woman, during which the defendant purportedly choked that woman and bit that woman’s breast, according to documents.

Anderson was convicted at a second trial and sentenced to 15 years to life in prison, but that outcome was reversed by an appeals court. Several additional attempts to convict Anderson of the murder have ended with deadlocked juries.

Anderson, who has remained incarcerated in the Mahoning County jail, filed a motion to dismiss as prosecutors announced intentions to seek an additional trial, arguing that “continuing to prosecute him without new evidence” was unconstitutional, according to documents.

“It violates the right to have justice administered without denial or delay to be able for 14 years to continually put a man to prosecution,” Juhasz said.

But prosecutors argued that there was no evidence of misconduct by the state and no undue delay in the proceedings.

Assistant Mahoning County Prosecutor Ralph Rivera said Tuesday that Anderson’s case was procedurally unique, and the trial court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to dismiss.

That prompted Justice Paul Pfeifer to ask, “At what point does a court have to say stop, enough’s enough. ... You’re asking us to say three complete trials is not enough, you can have a fourth. Is that what we are about to write?”

Rivera later offered, “Double jeopardy allows an additional trial following a hung jury. Throughout this 13-plus years, the defendant has received his due process rights.”

The Ohio Supreme Court has taken the case under advisement. There’s no timeline for a decision.