Boy, 15, charged in Cherry Avenue murder

Boy, 15, charged in Cherry Avenue murder

Prosecutor wants to try as an adult

By RENEE FOX

Tribune Chronicle

NILES ä A 15-year-old boy accused of killing a 94-year-old woman in her home Tuesday could be tried as an adult, Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins stated in a press release Wednesday.

Jacob LaRosa was arrested and charged this week with aggravated murder in the death of Marie R. Belcastro at her 509 Cherry Ave. home.

Based on her injuries and the condition her home was found in, Belcastroás death is an apparent homicide, Watkins stated.

Probable cause has been established, Watkins stated, and the case merits prosecution in an adult court. County prosecutors Chris Becker and Stanley Elkins will be responsible for the transfer of LaRosaás case into the Trumbull County Common Pleas Court, LaRosa is currently in custody and appeared at a detention hearing Wednesday.

Belcastroás daughter flagged down a passing ambulance after she walked into her motherás home around 5:30 p.m. and saw blood.

A neighbor, George Frazekos, said when the emergency responder pulled into the back alley in response to the womanás concerns, LaRosa ran out a back door, covered in blood. The boy, who appeared drunk to witnesses as he was transported from the scene to St. Joseph Warren Hospital while vomiting, is also described by neighbor Michael Spencer as drunk and carrying two bottles on a surveillance video, which is attached to a garage just behind Belcastroás. Kaela LaRosa told reporters Tuesday that her brother had been drinking.

U.S. postal carrier Scott Long may have been one of the last people to see Belcastro alive, he delivered her mail Tuesday. Long said she was a nice woman and he had been delivering her mail for the last nine years.

Neighbors have said Belcastro had lived in the neighborhood longer than anyone else, the home was built in 1950 and county auditor records show the Belcastros owned the home at least since 1990, online records donát indicate ownership pre-1990.

Niles police have not yet released a report on the incident, and officials have said that now that the case is in the hands of prosecutors they will not comment.

âShe gave kids in the neighborhood cookies,ã neighbor Kelly Porter said Wednesday. âI just donát get it, why didnát I hear anything? Why did he have to kill her?ã

Porter said the neighborhood is shaken up and she feels violated. LaRosa, neighbors said, lived just a few doors down. Porter said the neighborhood has turned into one where most of the residents come and go, but Belcastro has been a constant.

The suspectás sister, Kaela Larosa, said her brother was just released from the Juvenile Justice Center on Tuesday. She told reporters Tuesday she thinks her brother was set up by some boys that were bullying him.

âThis could have been prevented,ã Frazekos said. âI think everyone knew this kid was causing disturbances in the neighborhood

rfox@tribtoday.com