Chief: No suspects in slaying of Niles woman

Staff report

NILES

The crime that led to the death of a Hiram Street woman late Thursday was not a random act, police said.

Capt. Jay Holland, acting city police chief, said whoever was at the home of Arlene Frasca, 74, and her husband, Angelo, in the 1600 block of Hiram Street was looking for something particular.

Holland said he did not want to say what they were looking for or if they managed to take anything, saying he did not want to compromise the investigation.

“It wasn’t random,” Holland said Friday. “We have facts to believe this house was specifically targeted.”

Frasca worked 28 years for the Trumbull County clerk of courts office, both in the county courthouse in Warren and across the street in the auto title office in the county administration building.

She also sold real estate and was active in her church, Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Niles, and many social clubs.

“Arlene was my dear cousin,” said Virginia L. Merlo, who worked with her cousin at the title office for several months just before Frasca retired in 2002. “It came as just a shock.”

“She was just a lot of fun to be around and upbeat,” Merlo said. “There was a time when I was kind of down because I was laid off, and she just helped pick me up, and [we] went a lot of places together and had lunches at her house. She was very happy-go-lucky.”

Karen Infante Allen, the county clerk of courts, said Frasca retired before Infante Allen became clerk, but she knew her, calling her a “great lady who loved her Italian heritage” and was a devout Catholic.

Frasca was interviewed for an article about the Warren Italian-American Heritage Festival in 2004, saying she attended the festival every year.

“It’s the highlight of the year,” she said. “Especially when you speak Italian.”

Her grandmother came to the United States from Viesta Forge in Italy to make a home for her family, she said.

“My favorite part of the festival is seeing all my old friends,” she said. “I like listening to the music and speaking Italian with my grandmother’s friends.”

Frasca’s death is the ninth homicide in Trumbull County this year.

It’s also the second homicide in Niles in 19 months to involve a senior citizen. On March 31, 2015, Marie Belcastro, 94, was found beaten to death in her Lafayette Avenue home. Jacob Larosa, who was 15 at the time of her death, is set to go on trial next year for her death. Larosa is charged as an adult in the case.

In the Frasca case, Holland said detectives have no suspects but will interview people today in connection with the investigation.

Police were called to the home about 11 p.m. by her husband, who said two men with guns had broken in and his wife was not breathing.

Police will not say how Frasca died. An autopsy is scheduled today by the county coroner’s office.

Neighbors did not want to give their name and said police asked them not to speak to reporters so as to not impede their investigation. They did say the Frascas are good neighbors and the neighborhood is quiet.

Holland also said the neighborhood is quiet and there was no history of any calls being answered at the Frasca’s home.

Angelo Frasca was taken to the hospital but treated and released for injuries he suffered in the attack, Holland said.

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation was at the home Friday helping to collect evidence. Weathersfield police also responded with one of their police dogs shortly after Niles police arrived to search for suspects.