Wednesday, October 17, 2018
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
James Jarrell said Tuesday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court he had no idea when he went to the Wellington Avenue home of his stepmother July 7, 2015, that he would brutally beat, stab and murder her.
But defense attorneys and even prosecutors said a life filled with sexual abuse, injuries from a fire and drug use set a clock inside Jarrell that culminated when he killed Tina Jarrell, 55, in the kitchen of her Wellington Avenue home.
Judge Lou D’Apolito told Jarrell that he was going to do everything he could to make sure he never harmed anyone again, sentencing him to 19 years to life in prison, the maximum sentence allowed, after a jury convicted Jarrell in August of murder, tampering with evidence and receiving stolen property.
“It’s my responsibility to separate you from civilization for as long as the law allows,” Judge D’Apolito said.
Tina Jarrell was found by her husband when he returned home from work. She was stabbed, beaten, had her skull crushed and her throat slit twice. Assistant Prosecutor Nick Brevetta said some police officers who responded told him the crime scene was among the bloodiest they had ever been to.
Brevetta acknowledged that Jarrell had a rough upbringing, but he said Jarrell’s use of drugs to cope led to a life of crime that culminated in the brutal death of his stepmother.
“I do not believe this is an aberration, but a culmination, in the nature of Mr. Jarrell,” Brevetta said.
Defense attorney Ron Yarwood said that Jarrell’s abuse as a young man, along with substance abuse beginning at the age of 9, plus burns received in a fire when he was a child and a relationship with his stepmother were all signs that something bad would happen.
James Jarrell told the judge he did not mean to kill Tina Jarrell and he had no intention of killing her. He also complained he did not receive a fair trial. Several times since he was arrested shortly after the crime, he has bickered with defense attorneys and has tried to get his case continued.
He is appealing the verdict but said he was ready to accept whatever punishment the judge would dole out.
“I don’t want to say I’m sorry,” James Jarrell said. “Apologizing to the family is pretty much an insult. What happened, happened. I can’t take that back.”
P.J. Carney, Tina Jarrell’s brother, said the way she died is something the family remembers daily. He said his sister called constantly to check on their parents and she was an animal lover.
“She’d feed the strays in the neighborhood,” Carney said.
Carney asked for the maxiumum sentence.
“I hope I never see him out,” Carney said.
James Jarrell was arrested a short time after Tina Jarrell’s murder by police in Pittsburgh, with her car and credit cards. He received a 15 years to life sentence on the murder charge, the maximum sentence, and an additional four years for the tampering with evidence and receiving stolen property charges.