Johnny S. Clarke & Lisa Straub- young Ohio couple murdered

[Lady Cop]

facebook testifying:

Justice for Johnny & Lisa
5 hours ago via mobile
That Last Night

Sitting here alone at night
Wondering what words I'll type
Trying to make sense of this
Of all the things he will miss
Wondering about his final thoughts
How scared he was how much he mustve begged cried pleaded for his life with no one to help him and how those vile demons tortured him without giving a care
To think that to those vile demons he didnt matter at all they chose to take his life without even a thought
I had no clue what all transpired that evil night i can only imagine the facts i been told . How could they end his life not caring what I would go through the devastation of my soul the destruction of our families left to deal with so much anguish sadness torment and despair....earlier that night Everything was fine and everything was right
He had made plans to do a few things the next day to visit with us and work out with his dad and brother and eat his favorite dish
I still remember the last words I heard him say "mom i love you i will see you later im fine mom dont worry "im alive"
My mind and my broken heart keep trying to cope
But all I remember is anguish despair the torment and chaos of a dreadfull evil vile dark cold night his dad was
Holding his lifeless body and screaming so loud i could hear the echos into space up above
All I could do was fall to the ground as I ran towards the house and called 911 i froze in time in so much despair pain so intense so much to bear
I was too late it was already done
How could this happen? This cnt be real? Not my johnny not my son please God i beg you dont let it be real The torture inflicted upon him when he died i felt so helpless that i wasnt there to save his life
His dad leaned over his body and looked into his eyes and tried to revive him with more screams and despair beyond this world
My heart now broken and I couldnt realize
It was only 8 hours since I talk to him last and he was happy alive
Now I must try to cope and try and survive for justice for johnny we must fight and make sure that it gets served on all involved in taking my innocent son
I must try to go on and live life for his little brothers sake
I'll never forget what happened that night how i wish i could change it all and go back in time ;,( tears
This is my cross that I must bear
One I hope you don't have to share
Momma

[pspence]

In that entire crime scene, they don't have ANYTHING - fingerprints, DNA - from W & P inside the house or on the bodies?! Just one cig butt in the garage. I think Tiff and friends will testify that W & P were NOT at the party the night before, so the butt may place them there the night of the murders, but it's not enough to convict on these charges, imo.

I can't wait to hear the police/prosecutor's side...i bet they have a powerful circumstancial case. If we had to do this over we should have (seriously) organized a massive email/calls/letters etc to court tv people asking to air. Bet they would have if they had been made aware of so many wanting justice for Lisa and Johnny.

[soothsayer]

Mr. Braun said other evidence indicates Clarke's killers held him down, and he probably died first because the black duct tape that bound Ms. Straub had cardboard from the end of the roll attached to it.

Ok, so they died pretty much simultaneously, but the final piece of tape was put on Lisa last. In fact, they ran out of tape, right? Her legs weren't even bound with tape IIRC. I had always worried that was because they sexually assaulted her, but now I think they just didn't have enough tape. So maybe that's why she gets bopped on the head, to subdue her as they try to tie her legs up with -- what was it? sweat pants or something? -- or maybe they just held her down until she stopped struggling and by then it was over.

Why didn't they have enough tape? Had never done it before and underestimated what was required? Hadn't planned to tape up more than one person? That was just all the tape they had? They needed extra tape for Johnny because he was strong?

[pspence]

facebook testifying:

Justice for Johnny & Lisa
5 hours ago via mobile
That Last Night

Sitting here alone at night
Wondering what words I'll type
Trying to make sense of this
Of all the things he will miss
Wondering about his final thoughts
How scared he was how much he mustve begged cried pleaded for his life with no one to help him and how those vile demons tortured him without giving a care
To think that to those vile demons he didnt matter at all they chose to take his life without even a thought
I had no clue what all transpired that evil night i can only imagine the facts i been told . How could they end his life not caring what I would go through the devastation of my soul the destruction of our families left to deal with so much anguish sadness torment and despair....earlier that night Everything was fine and everything was right
He had made plans to do a few things the next day to visit with us and work out with his dad and brother and eat his favorite dish
I still remember the last words I heard him say "mom i love you i will see you later im fine mom dont worry "im alive"
My mind and my broken heart keep trying to cope
But all I remember is anguish despair the torment and chaos of a dreadfull evil vile dark cold night his dad was
Holding his lifeless body and screaming so loud i could hear the echos into space up above
All I could do was fall to the ground as I ran towards the house and called 911 i froze in time in so much despair pain so intense so much to bear
I was too late it was already done
How could this happen? This cnt be real? Not my johnny not my son please God i beg you dont let it be real The torture inflicted upon him when he died i felt so helpless that i wasnt there to save his life
His dad leaned over his body and looked into his eyes and tried to revive him with more screams and despair beyond this world
My heart now broken and I couldnt realize
It was only 8 hours since I talk to him last and he was happy alive
Now I must try to cope and try and survive for justice for johnny we must fight and make sure that it gets served on all involved in taking my innocent son
I must try to go on and live life for his little brothers sake
I'll never forget what happened that night how i wish i could change it all and go back in time ;,( tears
This is my cross that I must bear
One I hope you don't have to share
Momma

That is so sad. Your children are your life. As a mother, I ache for her...however I would hope that for the sake of my other children, husband and friends -who have to put up with my ass - that if that had happened to me i would eventually get to the point where I 'd get my shit together and say to myself, it's horrific what happened but hopefully God protected him in those last moments (research demonstrates people that died and came back don't have memories of the painful parts) and whatever happened it was a gift our family had him for the time we did, He would would want to to move on enjoy life blah blah blah

....then again that's what I would like to think I'd do...maybe I'd be still sucking my thumb in the fetal position....

I will always believe Johnny is the one who hollered for lisa to stay in her room and lock the door.

[soothsayer]

You don't need a scale on the counter to buy percocet, which you pay for by the pill; you need it to sell drugs that go by weight. So unless Lisa's parents had been on some pre-cruise diet where they weighed their food, we might assume Johnny and Lisa were selling pot or something. So were they buying or selling that night? Sounds like they were buying based on their phone calls. Did someone come to rob them because they knew they also sold drugs? Or did someone they owed money to get wind that they were trying to score, and got mad because they wanted to be paid first? Or was the crime unrelated to drugs---except for the inevitably bad crowd it entails?

[soothsayer]

Still stuck on the tape, pardon the rather unfortunate pun. So I guess we'll soon find out where that final piece of tape was affixed, but I'm wondering: Her wrists? Or around her neck? Those bags *were* taped on, weren't they? I mean -- we know that, right? Even though I am only finding stories this a.m. that say "tied around their necks."

So did they tape her wrists and see they only had enough tape left to choose between her ankles and neck, and went for the neck? Or did they tape the bag over her head first and then run out when doing her wrists, and then jerry rigged something for her ankles (sweat pants or shirt -- whatever it was) because she was still struggling. No matter how you order it, it's seriously creepy to think that these bad actors did this and thought through or made these on the spot decisions based on running out of tape. Probably much easier with more people because mob mentality kicks in and they spur each other on to do heinous things that they might have had second thoughts about on their own. Heck, maybe you only need two bad guys -- and apparently a bad girl. What part did she play? Sick.

[soothsayer]

These two dopes who left both their dna on a single cig in the garage. Were they keeping lookout from the garage while the others did the deed? Did they share a few quick drags on the way in to steel their nerves? Or on the way out to settle their stomachs? You'd think the latter is least likely because they'd just want to get the hell away from the scene.

[JsMom]

Maytee's words tore my heart apart. :(

I'm not having a good feeling about these cases after reading up on the only evidence (cig butts). I do not think they can charge them with the murders. Them prints on that duct tape is that of the murders. My spirits are crushed. I want to know whose DNA is on the tape! Do you think it could be that of a prostitute since W & P were pimping?

[Duchess]

I'm not having a good feeling about these cases after reading up on the only evidence (cig butts).

I felt that way too but we have to remind ourselves that its only been one day. We've only heard a minute portion of what will be said. Try to keep a positive outlook.

[JsMom]

It's hard to say positive. I have seen so many cases where everything points directly at that person but because of lack of DNA, they walk. Besides, there is still two people out there walking the streets whose DNA is on that duck tape. :( I just hope they have concrete circumstantial evidence. That's my last thread of hope.

[justme]

Crap, crap, crap---just reread my post from yesterday about opening statements and I miss spoke when I said Lisa died first. They did say that Johnny most likely died first. I thought I reread my post but I missed that. A thousand apologies. Hope that doesn't mess up my credibility!!!

[JsMom]

mistakes happen...you did a great job reporting...Thanks so much!

[Adub]

IMO i think the Uknown Female and male DNA is Alexandria Cousino , and Aaron Griffin.

Great post! I thought Alexandria Cousino and her bad boyfriend Thomas Nutter. Could be the other 2 goons are taking a newport break in the garage. IMO

I don't think Nutter was her boyfriend at the time. She was with Frost Daddy? Can't remember his name but he was dicussed here.

[pplrcrazy]

IMO, just because the duct tape was last used on Lisa, doesn't mean she died first, given that there was blood on here head area, maybe they knocked her out and then killed Jonny and after that they taped Lisa to make sure she would die, just incase she woke up after being knocked out.. Just my opinion..

[justme]

IMO, just because the duct tape was last used on Lisa, doesn't mean she died first, given that there was blood on here head area, maybe they knocked her out and then killed Jonny and after that they taped Lisa to make sure she would die, just incase she woke up after being knocked out.. Just my opinion..

I totally agree with you. I don't think it has anything to do with who died first. In the end they are both dead. I just hope these creeps get convicted and take whoever else was involved in this with them

[pplrcrazy]

I mean doesn't mean she died last! Sorrryyy.. I give up typing on my phone...lol

[Lady Cop]

Crap, crap, crap---just reread my post from yesterday about opening statements and I miss spoke when I said Lisa died first. They did say that Johnny most likely died first. I thought I reread my post but I missed that. A thousand apologies. Hope that doesn't mess up my credibility!!!

your cred is good with me!

i have a good source who told me, and i posted it last week i think, that Lisa died first. "accidentally". then they went outside to discuss what to do with Johnny. that's when the cig butt was discarded.

i too hope there is more than a cig butt for direct evidence. there's no date on that butt! but i have to have faith in the prosecutors until we see the entire case laid out.

[Older Than Dirt]

http://www.13abc.com/story/19045456/2012...on-petaway

THIS IS AN UPDATE OF A PREVIOUS STORY ON CHANNEL 13. I DON'T THINK IT WAS POSTED.

[Aberlin]

IMO, just because the duct tape was last used on Lisa, doesn't mean she died first, given that there was blood on here head area, maybe they knocked her out and then killed Jonny and after that they taped Lisa to make sure she would die, just incase she woke up after being knocked out.. Just my opinion..

I totally agree with you. I don't think it has anything to do with who died first. In the end they are both dead. I just hope these creeps get convicted and take whoever else was involved in this with them

Just because there was cardboard on Lisa's duct tape doesn't mean she was taped up last.

If you were there with at least four people you are obviously bringing enough people to quell any screw ups. So why would you bring at least four people and have only one roll of duct tape? If anyone here has experience with duct tape you know that one roll doesn't really last that long.

I firmly believe that the group of 4 or more demonstrates they knew BOTH Johhny and Lisa was going to be in the house. One "team" for Johnny (one holding down, one taping up; or in Johnny's case, one realizing Johnny isn't going to stop putting up a fight so now you have to tape his legs too), and one for Lisa.

I always believed the reason Lisa didn't have her legs taped is because: 1. She knew early on she couldn't overpower her attackers and stopped fighting, 2. She began to cooperate thinking it would save her in the end, 3. It was easier to hold her down. I don't believe they ran out of tape. If she was hit in the head because they ran out of tape, that would mean the bag was already taped over her head. It the wound happened to speed up death/restrain there would have been a hole in the bag. The impact causing the wound was strong enough to break skin...skin is much thicker and durable than a BB&B plastic shopping bag. That wound occurred before the bag was put on unless its on her lip from biting it while struggling.

Head wounds tend to bleed heavily and from the reports, there was a small amount of blood inside Lisa's bag indicating a minor wound. I think she bumped her head thrashing it trying to prevent the bag from being placed over her head. The wound could also be from something as simple as a fight wound from the bedroom struggle.

There is actually an office security video on the net of a girlfriend who tied her ex to a wall and killed him the same way Johnny and Lisa were killed.

It was extremely disturbing because of how frantically he struggled and whipped his head around to prevent her from putting the bag on his head. If he were laying down, he would have knocked his head on the ground numerous times.

The fact that you have two different DNA profiles on the tape shows that there was more than one roll of tape used. If you have two people restraining Johnny why pass the same shitty roll back and forth? Why not each person or even team have their own (otherwise you wish loosing control of the situation because its taking too long).

Also if there was DNA from the guy on one strip of tape, after he bit/ripped the tape off, his DNA would have been on the end piece of the roll AND the end piece that was wrapped around Johnny. If you bit/ripped something in half, "parts" of you are going to be on BOTH halves of it.

So if one roll of tape was used. On the same strip of wrapped tape, the male's DNA will be on the beginning, and the girls on the end...both DNA profiles on the same strip of wrapped tape. Reverse the genders if the girl used the tape first. Hope I wrote that decent enough because its a major point.

I actually still believe Lisa died first because she was colder and harder than Johnny. That's just my opinion...would rather hear hard facts. Card board on the duct tape isn't enough for me...especially when you're dealing with at least four people and two targets, one roll of duct tape seems very stupid.

Also I hate to say that guys but there is NO possible way that Lisa was knocked out while she was being killed. She has the exact same bruises as Johnny on her chin, knees, elbows, and hips. She literally rolled around on the floor struggling for air before the perps decided to hold them down. Who knows, there were things knocked off the counters, etc., perhaps they were making too much noise and they decided to make them feel every last bit of their suffering.

Worst of all, if you're going to get that close and personal to someone struggling for air like that and enjoy holding them down forcing them to embrace their fate, I would put my pension on it that they talked to them while they were dying.

Not to keep bringing this up but I think it need to be engraved into our minds that to kill with a plastic bag, it takes 1-1.5 minutes for a person to pass out and up to 5...yes 5 minutes for the person to finally die (many variable I already mentioned come into play on the speed of death).

[Lady Cop]

thanks Dirt!

13ABC

Gripping opening statements today in the case of an East Toledo man accused of killing a Springfield Township couple. This morning jurors learned things about the case only a small circle has known about.

The prosecutor says this case is built on circumstantial evidence and they have no eye witnesses to the crime. While Pettaway's defense team claims there are multiple suspects who could have committed this violent crime.

They are the mystery details the public has wanted to hear since the violent murders of Johnny Clarke and Lisa Straub. The couple was found dead in Straub's parents home. Prosecutors say Clarke's father found the couple after he kicked in the door

"He rips opens the plastic bag that's been duct taped over his sons head he touches his sons head and realizes his sons neck is stiff and he's been dead for some time. And he rips of the bag of Lisa's head," said prosecutor Tim Braun.

Prosecutors say the couple had an addiction to the common pain medication percocet. They planned a get together with friends to snort the pain drug that night, but someone killed the couple.

Cameo Pettaway is accused of the crime. Prosecutors say a cigarette butt puts Pettaway and his co-defendant Samuel Williams at the scene.

"When that butt was analyzed there were two people that smoked that butt and that's something the state of Ohio can prove scientifically because there's DNA from two separate men on the cigarette butt," said the prosecutor.

Prosecutors say the evidence will show when Williams was arrested he tried to tip off his buddy Pettaway

"The first call Sam Williams made from the county jail after his arrest was to Cameo Pettaway. The defendant in this case. and you'll here that call, " said Braun

But they admit other people could also be involved.

"We also know there was the DNA of an unknown male on the duct tape on the back of johnny Clarke's neck. We know that there was DNA left on the duct tape around Johnny Clarke's ankles by a woman who's never been identified."

Pettaway's defense team blames the murders on Johnny Clarke's drug dealing lifestyle. As for that cigarette butt found by the garage door ... the defense says there were other cigarettes found at the scene. Those cigarettes contained other DNA.

"There's none of cameo Pettaways DNA found at the crime scene not on the bags not on the duct tape not on any of the other physical items found in the crime scene area. What the prosecution can not prove is Cameo Pettaway's DNA got on that cigarette butt in connection in the commission of these homicides," said defense attorney Mark Geudtner.

Pettaways defense team also claims this investigation suffered because sheriff investigators lack experience in homicide investigations.