Results 1 to 10 of 10

Thread: John Bove Sentenced to LWOP in 2017 OH Rape and Murder of 13-Year-Old Kara Zdanczewski

  1. #1
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875

    John Bove Sentenced to LWOP in 2017 OH Rape and Murder of 13-Year-Old Kara Zdanczewski







    May 12, 2017

    Neighbor says Ashtabula kidnapping, murder suspect ‘seemed creepy’

    A woman who lives across from John Bove -- accused of kidnapping and killing an Ashtabula teen -- said he rubbed her the wrong way

    By Christina Mullen and Dave Sess
    WKBN News

    ASHTABULA, Ohio – Police said the Ashtabula man accused of kidnapping and killing a 13-year-old girl before leading officers on a chase through Sharon on Thursday befriended his victim’s father.

    Ashtabula Police Chief Robert Stell said 46-year-old John Bove wasn’t a stranger to Kara Zdanczewski, who also lived in Ashtabula.

    “He befriended the father roughly four months ago. I don’t know if they worked together or something like that. Somehow they knew each other,” Stell said.

    On Tuesday, the family let Zdanczewski leave with Bove from their home on Lake Road.

    Investigators believe relatives of the teen’s parents were arguing that day. Her mother called Bove, asking for his help to calm the father and to take the girl away so she wouldn’t see them fight, investigators said.

    They never thought it would be the last time they saw their daughter.

    “I think they trusted this person and felt comfortable with their daughter leaving for a short time with him, and it didn’t turn out the way they expected it was going to,” Stell said.

    When Bove didn’t bring her back, Stell said the family tried to figure out where they were. They tried calling Bove, but no answer. Zdanczewski missed two days of school.

    Finally on Wednesday, the family called Ashtabula police to report the child missing.

    A firefighter found her body Thursday evening in a wooded area near Sanborn Road in Saybrook Township.

    That same day, law enforcement in Sharon cornered Bove and arrested him behind Sharon Regional Hospital following a car and foot chase. He bailed from a car on Edgewood Road and ran through the woods before being caught.

    Neighbors are in shock and on edge after the events that unfolded over the past few days.

    Danette Montgomery, a grandmother who lives two houses down from the victim’s family on Lake Road, said it’s scary.

    “I seen the young girl a couple of times.”

    She said the family — who she claimed was quiet and kept to themselves — moved in a couple months ago.

    “For her to lose her life, knowing that she is two doors down from us, it’s crazy. Beyond crazy.”

    She said Bove would walk up and down the street.

    “He never corresponded with anyone so we didn’t think nothing of it.”

    Jennifer Williams has lived across from Bove for about four months and is friends with his neighbor.

    “Just always rubbed me the wrong way. Seemed creepy to me,” she said.

    Williams said whenever he came out, she would leave the neighbor’s because Bove made her feel uncomfortable.

    Montgomery’s grandchildren are 3 and 5 years old, and they always play outside with the neighbor kids.

    “It could have been one of our kids because like I said, they be out here every day. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t have a bunch of kids in my yard,” she said.

    Now Montgomery says she’s never letting them out of her sight.

    http://wkbn.com/2017/05/12/neighbor-...seemed-creepy/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  2. #2
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Court documents reveal new, horrifying details about possible motive behind Ashtabula teen's murder

    By Megan Hickey
    News 5 Cleveland

    SAYBROOK TWP, Ohio - When a 13-year-old girl was found dead in Ashtabula earlier this month, it appeared her murder was the result of a random, violent act by a registered sex offender. But a new court document paints a far more disturbing picture about what happened before Kara Zdanczewski's body was discovered in a rural Saybrook Township field.

    That document, an affidavit filed by an Ashtabula City Police Department officer, says her alleged kidnapper, John Bove, told investigators the teen was ultimately killed, and her body set on fire, over a $3,000 drug debt owed by the girl's father.

    RELATED: Coroner confirms body found in Ashtabula County is that of missing teen Kara Zdanczewski

    The police affidavit, filed on May 18, details how Bove told investigators that he and Malachi D. Schultz took Kara with the intent to trade her safety to her father, Stanley Zdanczewski, who allegedly owed Schultz thousands of dollars for Methamphetamine.

    Stanley and Debra Zdanczewski told police that on May 9 "they had entrusted their 13-year-old daughter, Kara Zdanczewski, to their friend, John Richard Bove, while they resolved an argument they were having. Bove took Kara and left. They never returned."

    The affidavit went on to describe Bove's gruesome account of the events that day. He said he and Schultz "stopped and struck Kara to make her stop yelling” as they were driving through a rural section of Ashtabula County. When they reached Austinburg Road — a road that runs through Ashtabula along Interstate 90 — Bove told Schultz to leave and then killed Kara.

    Kara's body was found in a field
    off Austinburg Road on May 11.

    Schultz allegedly gave Bove a change of clothing. Another man mentioned in the documents, Stanley Wilfong, agreed to dispose of the bloody clothes for Bove. Those clothes have not yet been recovered.

    Convicted sex offender and suspect in Ashtabula teen's death taught at local library


    The documents state that Bove also disposed of a knife "used at the murder scene" that Schultz hid in an air conditioner at his home where it was later found by police.

    In a strange twist, kidnapping and complicity to murder charges against Schultz were dismissed Tuesday, shortly after News 5 obtained the documents. At the time of the dismissal, new charges of obstructing justice and tampering with evidence were filed. Court records indicate the previous and more serious charges could be re-filed "pending the confirmation of information received from witnesses by way of forensic and DNA test results."

    Wilfong was charged with tampering of evidence and obstruction of justice.

    Bove is being held on a kidnapping charge and on Tuesday was charged with aggravated murder.

    Bove's wife, Debra Ann Bove, was previously charged with obstructing justice.

    The Ashtabula County Coroner told News 5 Tuesday morning that an official cause of death has not yet been determined.

    News 5 went to the home of Stanley Zdanczewski to request a statement but no one answered the door.

    News 5 reached out to the Ashtabula Solicitor's Office for comment but as of Tuesday evening did not receive a response.

    In a press release, the solicitor's office said that arrangements are pending to bring Bove to Ashtabula to be arraigned.

    http://www.news5cleveland.com/news/l...a-teens-murder
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  3. #3
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Solicitor: Suspect in murder of Ashtabula teen could face death penalty

    WFMJ News

    ASHTABULA, Ohio - The man accused of kidnapping an Ashtabula teen is now charged with her murder and could face the death penalty if convicted.

    In addition, three other people are charged in connection with the disappearance and death of 13-year-old Kara Zdanczewski.

    John Bove, who has been in the Mercer County Jail since Sharon, Pennsylvania Police arrested him on May 11, has been bound over to the Ashtabula County Grand Jury on charges of aggravated murder and kidnapping.

    Bove is charged with murdering Zdanczewski, whose body was found in Saybrook Township, which neighbors the city of Ashtabula.

    Three other suspects from Ashtabula, Debra Bove, 47, Malachi Schultz, 20, and Stanley Wilfong, 56, are charged with obstructing justice.

    Schultz and Wilfong are also charged with tampering with evidence according to Ashtabula City Solicitor Michael Franklin.

    All three are in the Ashtabula City Jail.

    Police note that Schultz was originally charged with complicity in murder and kidnapping, but those charges are temporarily withdrawn pending and investigation.

    The solicitor says more charges could be filed as the investigation continues.

    Franklin says that a conviction on a charge of aggravated murder could result in a sentence of life in prison or the death penalty. A kidnapping conviction could bring a three to 11-year sentence.

    Obstructing justice and evidence tampering are punishable with sentences of between nine months and three years in prison.

    The cases are expected to be presented to a grand jury in Ashtabula County which will decide if there is enough evidence to put the suspects on trial.

    According to an affidavit, Zdanczewski's parents, who know Bove, asked him to take the teen out of their home because they didn't want their daughter exposed to an argument the two were having.

    It was the last time they saw their daughter.

    Bove is scheduled to appear before a district magistrate in Mercer County on Wednesday to answer charges of fleeing an officer, receiving stolen property and use or possession of drug paraphernalia, which were filed in connection with his arrest in Sharon.

    He remains in the Mercer County Jail on $1 million bond, and for a violation of federal parole.

    In 2013, a federal court convicted Bove of failing to register as a sex offender when he was living in North Carolina.

    He was sentenced to 33 months in prison and placed on supervised release for five years following the completion of his sentence.

    The sex offender designation is the result of a 1990 rape conviction in New York.

    http://www.wfmj.com/story/35501061/s...-death-penalty
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  4. #4
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    New charges added in case of murdered 13-year-old girl

    By Justin Dennis
    Star Beacon

    JEFFERSON — John Richard Bove, 47, has been charged with raping the 13-year-old Ashtabula girl he’s accused of kidnapping and murdering in May.

    Bove was accused in May of kidnapping 13-year-old Kara Zdanczewski, then stabbing her to death and burning her body in a wooded area in Saybrook Township the following day. A new indictment, handed up by the county grand jury Wednesday, adds new felony charges of rape, aggravated murder with a death penalty specification and murder.

    County Prosecutor Nicholas Iarocci said a DNA sample found during an autopsy on the 13-year-old girl matched a DNA standard obtained from Bove through a search warrant executed while he was in Pennsylvania. Other individuals from whom a DNA standard was also taken were excluded, Iarocci said, but he did not specify those persons.

    That new evidence arrived weeks after Bove’s initial indictment, he said.

    While authorities were seeking a governor’s warrant to extradite Bove to Ohio from Pennsylvania, where he was held for months following his arrest, county Prosecutor Nicholas Iarocci said his office was awaiting evidence suggesting Bove had also raped the girl.

    The warrant, however, carries a deadline for removing a prisoner from the state’s jurisdiction, he said.

    He instead presented Bove’s existing charges — 10 felony counts including aggravated murder, murder, kidnapping, felonious assault, tampering with evidence and gross abuse of a corpse — in late June.

    “I decided to present it to the grand jury after Mr. Bove was in Ohio, to avoid any kind of issues relating to execution of the governor’s warrant,” he said Thursday, adding the state will seek to consolidate the new rape-related charges with the existing case.

    Bove pleaded not guilty to his initial 10 charges during his arraignment earlier this month in county Common Pleas Court. If convicted, he faces the death penalty. He continues to be held without bond in the Ashtabula County Jail in Jefferson.

    Other alleged accomplices charged with obstructing justice and tampering with evidence are free on personal recognizance bonds, including Bove’s wife Debra, of Ashtabula; Malachi Schultz, of Ashtabula, accused of hiding the knife Bove used to kill Zdanczewski; and Stanley Wilfong III, of Jefferson, accused of disposing of Bove’s bloody clothes following the murder.

    http://www.starbeacon.com/news/local...9df5702b4.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  5. #5
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Bove pleads not guilty Man accused of killing teen arraigned on rape, murder charges

    By Shelley Terry
    Star Beacon

    JEFFERSON — John R. Bove pleaded not guilty Friday to all charges in a new, three-count indictment following his alleged kidnapping, rape and murder of 13-year-old Kara Zdanczewski.

    Bove was arraigned Friday morning on the new indictment, which was handed up by the county grand jury Aug. 17 and added three new felony charges of rape, aggravated murder with death penalty specification and murder, an unclassified felony, to a previous indictment of 10 charges, which also included aggravated murder with a death penalty specification.

    Bove, 47, showed no emotion Friday as Ashtabula County Common Pleas Judge Marianne Sezon read the additional charges against him.

    The previous 10 charges included one count of aggravated murder, three counts of murder, two counts of kidnapping, one of felonious assault, two counts of evidence tampering and one count of gross abuse of a corpse.

    Sezon granted the prosecution's Aug. 18 motion to consolidate all of the charges and the case was assigned to Common Pleas Judge Gary Yost. All future hearings will be heard in Yost's courtroom, she said.

    County Prosecutor Nicholas Iarocci and Chief Assistant Prosecutor Cecilia Cooper represented the state at Friday's hearing. Court-appointed attorney Thomas Shaughnessy and co-counsel Ariana Tarighati represented Bove. Shaughnessy entered a plea of not guilty on Bove's behalf.

    Shaughnessy and Tarighati declined comment on the case.

    Bove is being held without bond in the Ashtabula County jail.

    All of the charges stem from the reported kidnapping, rape and murder of Kara Zdanczewski. Her remains were discovered the evening of May 11 in the woods off Austinburg Road, after Ashtabula police detectives questioned Bove while he was in the custody of the Sharon (Pennsylvania) Police Department.

    Bove, a convicted rapist and registered sex offender, was arrested May 11 by Sharon, Pennsylvania police after fleeing Ohio in a stolen vehicle.

    Police have said Bove kidnapped, raped and murdered Kara Zdanczewski sometime between May 9-10. One of Bove's evidence-tampering charges alleges he tried to hide the knife he used to kill her; the other accuses him of attempting to hide her body in the woods. The gross abuse of a corpse charge claims Bove burned her body after her death.

    Prosecutors have said a DNA sample found during an autopsy on the girl matched a DNA sample obtained from Bove through a search warrant while he was incarcerated in Pennsylvania. That new evidence arrived weeks after Bove's initial indictment; thus, the new rape charges, prosecutors said.

    Three other suspects in the case are accused of helping Bove after the murder, including Bove's wife, Debra, 47, of Ashtabula, who is charged with two counts of obstructing justice. Iarocci said she faces up to six years in prison if convicted. Her jury trial is set for Oct. 2.

    Bove's other reported accomplices, Malachi Schultz, 20, of Ashtabula, and Stanley Wilfong III, 56, of Jefferson, are charged with obstructing justice and tampering with evidence, according court records.

    Both charges are third-degree felonies and, if convicted, the men face up to three years in prison, Iarocci said. Their jury trials are scheduled for Oct. 3.

    Schultz's charges stem from reportedly helping hide the knife police believe was used in Kara Zdanczewski's death. Police found the knife hidden in the air conditioner of Schultz's home.

    Police believe Wilfong hid Bove's bloody clothes and gave him clean clothes to wear following the murder.

    http://www.starbeacon.com/news/local...1b6b0e739.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  6. #6
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    What a bunch of despicable creatures helping someone who raped and murdered a child..SMH



    Trials continued to 2018 for John Bove's alleged accomplices

    By Shelley Terry
    The Star Beacon

    JEFFERSON — Three Ashtabula County residents police say helped John R. Bove hide evidence in the murder of 13-year-old Kara Zdanczewski have had their trial dates moved to next year, according to Ashtabula County Common Pleas Court records.

    Bove’s wife, Debra, 48, of Ashtabula; Malachi Schultz, 20, of Ashtabula and Stanley Wilfong III, 56, of Jefferson, were originally scheduled for trial Monday and Tuesday, respectively.
    Attorneys met last week and asked the jury trials be continued to a later date, according to court records.

    Debra Bove, who is charged with two counts of obstructing justice, now will face a jury of her peers on March 5 in Common Pleas Judge Gary Yost’s courtroom, court records show.

    If convicted, she faces up to six years in prison, prosecutors have said.

    Schultz and Wilfong are charged with obstructing justice and tampering with evidence, according to court records. Both charges are third-degree felonies and, if convicted, the men face up to three years in prison.

    Schultz will go to trial Feb. 27, and Wilfong on March 20. Their trials will take placein Common Pleas Judge Thomas Harris’courtroom, records show.

    Schultz’s charges stem from reportedly helping hide the knife police believe was used in Kara Zdanczewski’s death. Police found the knife hidden in the air conditioner of Schultz’s home.

    Police believe Wilfong hid Bove’s bloody clothes and gave him clean clothes to wear following the murder.

    Prosecutors have not provided details on Debra Bove’s charges, only to say they stemfrom two separate incidents.

    http://www.starbeacon.com/news/local...8c4f84f64.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  7. #7
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Related:

    Bove's wife sentenced

    Woman who lied to police about murder suspect gets 30 months


    By Shelley Terry
    The Star Beacon

    JEFFERSON — "The pigs called and they're looking for you."

    That text message, which Debra Bove sent May 11 to her husband, John Bove — who is accused of killing 13-year-old Kara Zdanczewski — earned her a 30-month prison sentence.

    Debra Bove, 48, of Ashtabula, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of obstruction of justice, a third-degree felony. A second count of obstruction was dismissed in a plea agreement with prosecutors. The maximum sentence she could have received was three years in prison.

    Debra Bove's phone was confiscated by police during their investigation and the time stamp showed the text was sent shortly after police had questioned Bove about her husband's whereabouts and she denied having any contact with him, Ashtabula County Prosecutor Nicholas Iarocci said.

    Ashtabula County Common Pleas Judge Gary Yost asked Bove to explain what happened on May 11, 2017.

    "I didn't tell police where John was," she said quietly.

    She went on to tell the judge that she's severely depressed and suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome as a result of the ordeal.

    Iarocci said he didn't believe it.

    "She puts on a good show; she knowingly lied to police," he said. "As for her claim of post traumatic stress syndrome ... frankly, it's laughable. We ask that you send this liar to prison for 30 months."

    Hobart Shiflet, Debra Bove's attorney, said his client was not a bad person

    "She was just being a wife, and she didn't know the horror of what John had done," he said.

    A handful of Bove's family and friends were at the hearing, but did not speak.

    Seven members of Zdanczewski's family were there, some crying softly.

    Shirley Garcia spoke on behalf of Zdanczewski's family, telling the court many people loved the teen — a young girl who liked learning and enjoyed going to the library. Debra Bove worked at the library, which is where she met Zdanczewski.

    "Debra befriended her and introduced Kara to John (Bove)," she said.

    Garcia said Zdanczewski was loving and surrounded by friends and family during her short life. Garcia fought tears as she described Zdanczewski's death.

    "Sadly, no one she loved was with her at the end," she said.

    Garcia accused Debra Bove of "lies and deception" and begged the court to hold her accountable.

    "I hope she will never be allowed to work around children again," Garcia said.

    Yost sentenced Bove to 30 months at the Ohio State Reformatory for Women. Upon her release, she will be on probation for three years.

    John Bove's friend, Malachi Schultz, 21, pleaded guilty last week to one count of tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony, according to court records. Schultz hid the knife police believe John Bove used to kill Zdanczewski. Bove visited Schultz and dropped off the weapon after murdering the teen and leaving her body in woods off Austinburg Road in Saybrook Township, according to police.

    Police believe Stanley Wilfong III, 57, of Jefferson, hid Bove’s bloody clothes and gave him clean clothes to wear following the murder.

    Wilfong faces charges of obstructing justice and tampering with evidence, both third-degree felonies, according to court records. His trial date has been set for March 20 in Common Pleas Judge Thomas Harris’ courtroom, records show.

    If convicted, he faces up to three years in prison.

    John Bove, 48, of Ashtabula, was indicted on one count of aggravated murder, three counts of murder, two of kidnapping, one of felonious assault, two of evidence tampering and one count of gross abuse of a corpse, according to court records.

    The grand jury indicted Bove on a death penalty specification for the aggravated murder charge at Iarocci’s request.

    Bove, a convicted rapist and registered sex offender, has a trial date of April 6 before Yost.

    http://www.starbeacon.com/news/local...a516fd3d1.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  8. #8
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2017
    Posts
    478
    Bove trial date to be set in July

    By SHELLEY TERRY
    Star Beacon

    JEFFERSON — A trial date for an Ashtabula man accused in the kidnapping, rape and murder of 13-year-old Kara Zdanczewski will be set at a hearing in July.

    John R. Bove, 47, will be scheduled to stand trial in Ashtabula County Common Pleas Court, Ashtabula County Prosecutor Nicholas Iarocci said soon after a pretrial hearing Friday before Judge Gary Yost.

    The final status conference was set for 1 p.m. July 13, at which time the court will schedule all the necessary deadlines to precede to a jury trial, Iarocci said.

    Bove faces the following charges: aggravated murder with death penalty specification, three counts of murder, two counts of kidnapping, one of felonious assault, two counts of tampering with evidence, one count of gross abuse of a corpse and one count of rape, according to court records.

    Bove is being held without bond in the Ashtabula County jail.

    Iarocci and Chief Assistant Prosecutor Cecilia Cooper are representing the state and court-appointed attorney Thomas Shaughnessy and co-counsel Ariana Tarighati are representing Bove.

    All of the charges stem from the reported kidnapping, rape and murder of Kara Zdanczewski. Her remains were discovered the evening of May 11 in the woods off Austinburg Road, after Ashtabula police detectives questioned Bove while he was in the custody of the Sharon (Pennsylvania) Police Department.

    Bove, a convicted rapist and registered sex offender, was arrested May 11 by Sharon, Pennsylvania police after fleeing Ohio in a stolen vehicle.

    Police have said Bove kidnapped, raped and murdered Kara Zdanczewski sometime between May 9-10. One of Bove’s evidence-tampering charges alleges he tried to hide the knife he used to kill her; the other accuses him of attempting to hide her body in the woods. The gross abuse of a corpse charge claims Bove burned her body after her death.

    Prosecutors have said a DNA sample found during an autopsy matched a DNA sample obtained from Bove through a search warrant while he was incarcerated in Pennsylvania.

    http://www.starbeacon.com/news/local...7c508e0d8.html

  9. #9
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Man avoids death penalty, pleads guilty to killing 13-year-old Kara Zdanczewski while on meth

    By Kaylyn Hlavaty
    News 5 Cleveland

    ASHTABULA, Ohio — John Richard Bove, the man charged with the death of 13-year-old Kara Zdanczewski from Ashtabula in May 2017, avoided the death penalty after he pleaded guilty in Ashtabula County Common Pleas Court to a slew of charges relating to her death, according to a news release from the Ashtabula County Prosecutor’s Office.

    New details

    Bove pleaded guilty on Feb. 15 to the following 13 counts as part of the original indictments: two counts of aggravated murder, four counts of murder, one count of rape, two counts of kidnapping, one count of felonious assault, two counts of tampering with evidence and one count of gross abuse of a corpse.

    During his plea, Bove indicated to the court that he killed Zdanczewski because he was high on crystal methamphetamine, stating he injected more meth that day than he had ever used before, according to the news release.

    In exchange for his guilty plea, Bove avoided the death penalty with the stipulation that he would be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

    Bove apologized to Kara's family in court. Her father, Stanley Zdanczewski, said Kara was a “wonderful daughter who is sorely missed by everyone,” according to the release.

    The charges he pleaded guilty to stem from the tragic day when Zdanczewski's body was discovered on or about May 9, 2017, in a rural Saybrook Township field.

    The prosecutor's office said this case represents another "horrendous and despicable crime perpetrated as a result of the rampant and prevalent methamphetamine use in Ashtabula County," according to the release.

    The release further states that Ashtabula County is in dire need of a financial and other resources to do so, including federal and assistance to combat the problem.

    Ashtabula County Sheriff Bill Johnson said the drug problem isn't unique to Ashtabula County, saying meth problems haven't gone away with some drugs coming back.

    Johnson also states that most calls they go to deal with drugs in some way.

    Previous reporting on events prior to her death

    Stanley and Debra Zdanczewski told police that on May 9, 2017 "they had entrusted their 13-year-old daughter with their friend, Bove, while they resolved an argument they were having. Bove took Kara and left. They never returned."

    An affidavit filed by an Ashtabula City Police Department officer on May 18, 2017 said Bove told investigators that Zdanczewski was ultimately killed and her body set on fire, over a $3,000 drug debt owed by her father, Stanley Zdanczewski.

    The affidavit further details how Bove told investigators that he took Kara with the intent to trade her to safety to her father in exchange for the drug debt.

    Moving on

    Zdanczewski's father told Judge Gary L. Yost that his daughter would want to say one thing to Bove, at which Stanley Zdanczewski turned to Bove and said "I forgive you."

    As a result of the plea and sentence, the family and the community avoided details of her death that would have been revealed during the trial, the news release states.

    The plea and sentence occurred with the consent of Zdanczewski's family and the Ashtabula Police Department.

    https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/...n-crystal-meth
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  10. #10
    Senior Member CnCP Addict one_two_bomb's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Location
    Detroit MI
    Posts
    965
    During his plea, Bove indicated to the court that he killed Zdanczewski because he was high on crystal methamphetamine, stating he injected more meth that day than he had ever used before, according to the news release.
    Bullcrap. Drugs don't "make" you go out and rape and murder a child. He killed her because he wanted to. What a sick, degenerate human being, and shame on the prosecutors for allowing him to cop a plea even though he fails to take full responsibility for his actions. Set him on fire.

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •