Sweeney grants motion to move Seman case

YOUNGSTOWN — Judge Maureen Sweeney today in Mahoning County Common a Pleas Court granted a defense motion for a change of venue in the Robert Seman capital murder case.

The ruling comes after a hearing yesterday where defense attorneys asked for the move, saying intense pretrial publicity has made it impossible to seat a jury.

Seman could face the death penalty if convicted of killing Corinne Gump, 10 and her grandparents William and Judith Schmidt after a March 30, 2015, arson at their Powers Way home.