8-25-2009 Ohio:The city of Newark has recorded its second homicide of the year. The latest happened around 10:15 Monday night on West Harrison Street.
A disconnected 911 call alerted authorities to a problem at 59 West Harrison Street. When police arrived they found the many residents of the rooming house, but didn't see a victim.
"They did a very good job It would have been easy turn around and say well there's no disturbance, but they did an excellent job in
continuing the call and locating the victim," says Sgt. Scott Snow, Newark Police Department.
After searching the house, 25-year-old John Stouffer was found stabbed to death in his room. For neighbor Donna Queen, whose boyfriend lives at the home the discovery was shocking.
"I was scared, because I live here by myself and I was scared. I mean that's too close to home," says Queen.
Neighbors say with people going to and from the house it's hard to tell if there's anything suspicious going on.
"Sometimes it's kind of scary because you don't know who's going in and out. There's always quite a bit of traffic. You don't know who lives there and who don't," says Queen.
Sgt. Snow says the public should not be worried, because they don't believe this was a random act of violence, they are interviewing multiple residents of the house.
"The investigators are kind of wading through the scene and wading through the evidence and they'll be doing extensive interviews with each resident," says Snow.
Neighbors say it's some of the homes residents they're concerned about.
Authorities say the victim Stouffer was a convicted sex offender who was arrested for propositioning a child.
Queen says several residents of the home are criminals and she'd like to see the buildings owner take action.
"For the owner to like know the person that's going to be renting there, to know their background, you know a little bit more about who she's letting rent there."
Licking County Crime Stoppers is offering a reward up to $1000 for information leading to the arrest of Stouffer's killer. If you have any information on the murder call the Newark Division of Police Detective Bureau at (740) 670-7215. ..Source.. by Kelly Gilmartin
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Newark man found stabbed to death
8-25-2009 Ohio:
NEWARK — Police are searching for clues in the stabbing death of a 25-year-old Newark man in a West Harrison Street rooming house late Monday night.
At 10:14 p.m., officers were called to 59 W. Harrison St. on a report of a disturbance. Unable to find the person who called police, officer began to check on the welfare of residents on the rooming house, police said.
In an upstairs bedroom, they discovered the body of John T. Stouffer, a resident of the home. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Newark Police Sgt. Scott Snow said that police have not identified any suspects as of this morning and are in the process of collecting detailed interviews from the other seven residents of the rooming house.
He said that none of the residents are “conspicuously absent,” but that none to his knowledge had taken credit for the 911 call.
“By the time the call came in to us, the caller had disconnected,” Snow said.
There was no indication of forced entry into Stouffer’s room, one of eight that shares common areas in the two-story home, such as a living room and kitchen, with the others, according to Snow.
He declined to comment on whether a weapon had been recovered and said he was unable to answer at this time whether police have determined if there was a struggle in Stouffer’s room. Snow also would not say where in the room the body was found and how many stab wounds Stouffer had suffered.
Snow did say that Stouffer’s death appeared to be the same day as the disturbance call.
“He certainly hadn’t been there for days or even a day,” he added.
Several neighbors told The Advocate this morning that they didn’t hear or see anything to indicate that anything of this deadly nature had occurred.
Ryin Nethers said he returned to his home on West Harrison Street, west of the rooming house, after walking his girlfriend, Nicole Noblick, to work at about 10:15 p.m. Monday when he saw two cruisers down the block.
“Then I saw the CSI van and I thought that was a little weird, then the hearse pulled up and I knew something was up,” Nethers said.
Unfortunately, Shirley Linn, who has lived in her West Harrison Street home with her husband for 55 years, said that the presence of police cars on her block has not been unusual.
“We never had any trouble here until the last two years,” she said. “It’s been terrible.”
Noblick, who has two young children, said she is concerned that the violence in her neighborhood will continue.
“It just makes you wonder what’s going to happen next,” she said.
Stouffer was sentenced to five years of community control and classified as a sex offender in April 2008.
Court and police records state Stouffer showed pornography to girls, ages 10 and 13, at the Newark Public Library in September 2007. He then walked home with the girls and asked them sexually-oriented questions. He also asked the 13-year-old to have sex with him.
About nine years before he pleaded guilty to that incident, Stouffer was convicted of rape in the Juvenile Division of the Licking County Court of Common Pleas, his 2007 importuning case shows.
Nethers said he spoke with Stouffer a couple times about fishing when the victim would walk by Nethers’ home with his fishing pole, but other than that none of the five neighbors approached by The Advocate could remember any contact with the deceased.
Detectives are actively working the case. Licking County Crime Stoppers will offer a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest in the case.
Anyone with information should call police at (740) 670-7215 or Crime Stoppers at (740) 349-6888 or (888) 488-9058. ..Source. by Russ Zimmer
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Woman Learns Fate In 'Death Demons' Stabbing
2-3-2010 Ohio:
A woman was sentenced Wednesday after admitting her role in a fatal stabbing that was apparently linked to a cult called the Death Demons.
Beth Doty, 29, said she asked fellow members to kill her boyfriend, John Stouffer, in August, 10TV News reported.
Police found John Stouffer, 25, stabbed to death in a rooming house after someone reported screaming.
Doty received a 20-year prison sentence for her role in the slaying.
Three other men are awaiting trial in the case, while a fourth man is already serving 18 years to life in prison.
Watch 10TV News and refresh 10TV.com for additional information. ..Source.. by 10TV.com
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