09-27-2011, 09:34 AM
Toledoan suspected in murders arraigned-Parents of a man slain, along with his girlfriend, in a Springfield Township home last winter Monday decried the murder suspect's emotionless demeanor during his arraignment and reiterated their desire that he receive the death penalty if convicted.
"I want to sit down and watch [him] die. I was there in the house. I saw everything and it was horrific," said John P. Clarke, father of Johnny Clarke, 21, who was found dead Jan. 31 in the home of Lisa Straub, 20, who also was killed. Both were found bound with bags over their heads.
"Life in prison is not enough," Mr. Clarke said of suspect Samuel Williams, 24, and any other possible suspects in the murders.
During the video arraignment Monday in Sylvania Municipal Court, Mr. Williams, a first-year social-work student at Owens Community College whose last known address was 1626 Kelsey Ave. in East Toledo, stared straight ahead in silence.
He is charged with two counts of murder and two counts of aggravated burglary in connection with the couple's deaths.
Judge M. Scott Ramey kept Mr. Williams' bond at $5 million during the arraignment, in which Mr. Williams participated via video link from the Lucas County jail. Bond had been set during an initial video appearance Friday, with the arraignment proceedings continued to Monday so the court could appoint public defender Nicole Khoury to represent the suspect.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Monday.
Clarke's mother, Maytee Vazquez-Clarke described Mr. Williams' demeanor during the arraignment Monday as "ice cold."
"And I have two words, 'death penalty,'" she added and clarified that she meant it for everybody who was involved in the killing of the couple.
"It makes me sick to look at that face, but I know that I have to do it. I have to be Johnny and Lisa's voice," she said.
Mrs. Vazquez-Clarke said after the arraignment that she was wrong earlier when she told The Blade she had seen Mr. Williams' photo on someone else's Facebook page. She had checked again, and "it was not him," she said.
Nonetheless, she maintained that the couple was targeted and that others must have been involved, because her son would have put up a fight against a lone attacker.
"My son was a big boy. He wasn't going to go down easily. And one of the kids or the other was going to jump [out] of a window or run for help or something," she said.
Lucas County Sheriff's Detective Jeff Kozak, who last week had said he expected more arrests, "hopefully in the near future," was not available to comment about the case Monday.
Investigators have yet to disclose any potential motives.
http://www.toledoblade.com/Courts/2011/0...igned.html
"I want to sit down and watch [him] die. I was there in the house. I saw everything and it was horrific," said John P. Clarke, father of Johnny Clarke, 21, who was found dead Jan. 31 in the home of Lisa Straub, 20, who also was killed. Both were found bound with bags over their heads.
"Life in prison is not enough," Mr. Clarke said of suspect Samuel Williams, 24, and any other possible suspects in the murders.
During the video arraignment Monday in Sylvania Municipal Court, Mr. Williams, a first-year social-work student at Owens Community College whose last known address was 1626 Kelsey Ave. in East Toledo, stared straight ahead in silence.
He is charged with two counts of murder and two counts of aggravated burglary in connection with the couple's deaths.
Judge M. Scott Ramey kept Mr. Williams' bond at $5 million during the arraignment, in which Mr. Williams participated via video link from the Lucas County jail. Bond had been set during an initial video appearance Friday, with the arraignment proceedings continued to Monday so the court could appoint public defender Nicole Khoury to represent the suspect.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Monday.
Clarke's mother, Maytee Vazquez-Clarke described Mr. Williams' demeanor during the arraignment Monday as "ice cold."
"And I have two words, 'death penalty,'" she added and clarified that she meant it for everybody who was involved in the killing of the couple.
"It makes me sick to look at that face, but I know that I have to do it. I have to be Johnny and Lisa's voice," she said.
Mrs. Vazquez-Clarke said after the arraignment that she was wrong earlier when she told The Blade she had seen Mr. Williams' photo on someone else's Facebook page. She had checked again, and "it was not him," she said.
Nonetheless, she maintained that the couple was targeted and that others must have been involved, because her son would have put up a fight against a lone attacker.
"My son was a big boy. He wasn't going to go down easily. And one of the kids or the other was going to jump [out] of a window or run for help or something," she said.
Lucas County Sheriff's Detective Jeff Kozak, who last week had said he expected more arrests, "hopefully in the near future," was not available to comment about the case Monday.
Investigators have yet to disclose any potential motives.
http://www.toledoblade.com/Courts/2011/0...igned.html
"It is a capital mistake to theorize before you have all the evidence. It biases the judgment."