Coroner rules death of Akron man found in Berlin Lake a homicide

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

A man who was found floating in Berlin Lake on Saturday morning was murdered, according to the Mahoning County Coroner’s office.

The coroner’s office ruled Wednesday that the death of Robert Lee Johnson, 60, of Akron, is a homicide, after an autopsy was done on Johnson by the Cuyahoga County Coroner’s office.

Johnson was found about 5:45 p.m. floating in Berlin Lake near the causeway, reports said.

The body was determined to be floating in Mahoning County, so the Mahoning County Sheriff’s office is investigating.

A witness wrote in a sheriff’s report that as he and another man were fishing, they saw what appeared to be a human head in the water and the closer they got, they discovered it was a person.

Maj. Jeff Allen of the sheriff’s office said he did not want to disclose how Johnson died.

A sheriff’s report noted injuries only to Johnson’s back and head but was not specific on what kind of injuries those were.

This is the first homicide in Mahoning County outside of Youngstown in 2017.