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Thread: Matthew Ponomarenko Sentenced to Minimum 45 Years in 2021 OH Murder of Jax Ponomarenko

  1. #1
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    Matthew Ponomarenko Sentenced to Minimum 45 Years in 2021 OH Murder of Jax Ponomarenko





    Parma father accused of beating son to death pleads not guilty to aggravated murder, other charges

    By Cory Shaffer
    cleveland.com

    CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Parma father accused of beating his 5-year-old son to death with a baseball bat pleaded not guilty during his Friday arraignment.

    Matthew Ponomarenko, 31, is charged with aggravated murder and child endangerment in the killing of his son Jax Ponomarenko.

    Ponomarenko, who has his son’s name tattooed above his left eye, appeared via a live video from the Cuyahoga County Jail.

    The boy’s maternal grandmother asked Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Dick Ambrose to order Ponomarenko jailed without bond. Ambrose continued the bond at $5 million.

    Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley’s office is still deciding whether to pursue charges against Ponomarenko that would make him eligible for the death penalty if he is convicted in the case.

    The case was assigned to Judge Michael Russo.

    Ponomarenko was arrested March 25 after he called police to his home on Russell Avenue near West 45th Street. Parma police previously released the 911 call in which Ponomarenko told a dispatcher that he struck his son with a baseball bat and was hearing voices.

    Police went to the home and found Jax lying on the living room floor with severe head trauma, prosecutors said Tuesday. The boy was pronounced dead at the scene.

    The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner determined Jax died of blunt force impacts to his head and ruled his death a homicide.

    https://www.cleveland.com/court-just...outputType=amp
    Last edited by Steven; 11-10-2023 at 12:33 PM.

  2. #2
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Edited:

    Parma man accused of beating his 5-year-old son to death indicted on charges that carry death penalty


    By Cory Shaffer
    cleveland.com

    CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Parma father who told police dispatchers he beat his 5-year-old son to death with a baseball bat while he heard voices in his head now faces charges that carry the death penalty if he is convicted.

    A grand jury this week handed up an indictment charging Matthew Ponomarenko with two counts of aggravated murder that accuse him of killing a child under 13 years old. One count says he purposely killed the boy, and the other that he killed him with prior calculation and design. He is also charged with two counts of endangering children, a second degree felony.

    Ponomarenko, 32, has been held in the Cuyahoga County Jail on a $5 million bond since a grand jury first indicted him in April in the death of Jax Ponomarenko. Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley’s office at the time said it reserved the right to go back to the grand jury and seek more charges that carried a potential death sentence.

    “It is one of the most vicious attacks committed by a human being I have ever seen,” O’Malley said in a statement released Friday through a spokesman. “The fact that it was a father who did this to his young son is incomprehensible to me.”

    Ponomarenko is set for an Aug. 5 arraignment in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. His attorney, Stephen McGowan, could not be immediately reached for comment Friday.

    Court records show that Ponomarenko’s case was assigned to the court’s specialized docket for defendants with mental health issues, and that he underwent a psychiatric evaluation and an exam to determine if he is competent to stand trial.

    Court records do not reveal the results of those evaluations.

    Ponomarenko was charged in 2017 with endangering children in a case where police said he left his then 1-year-old son naked in the street while he yelled at cars. Police said Ponomarenko later admitted to taking meth, psychedelic mushrooms and PCP.

    https://www.cleveland.com/court-just...h-penalty.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

  3. #3
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Edited:

    Parma father who beat 5-year-old son to death with baseball bat avoids death penalty, will spend life in prison

    By Cory Shaffer
    cleveland.com

    CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A Parma man was sentenced to life in prison Thursday for beating his 5-year-old son to death with a baseball bat during what he said was a psychotic episode.

    Matthew Ponomarenko pleaded guilty to aggravated murder, kidnapping and endangering children in the March 25, 2021, slaying of Jax Ponomarenko.

    Prosecutors agreed to drop charges that would have made Ponomarenko eligible to face the death penaltyif convicted.

    Visiting Judge Timothy J. McGinty accepted the plea Thursday and imposed a sentence of life with first chance at parole after Ponomarenko spends 45 years in prison.

    “Matthew Ponomarenko brutally beat and killed his own son,” Prosecutor Michael O’Malley said in a statement. “With this sentence, I hope that the family can find a modicum of peace and solace. May Jax’s memory forever live in their hearts.”

    Ponomarenko, 34, has been held in the Cuyahoga County Jail on a $5 million bond since a grand jury first indicted him in April 2021.

    https://www.cleveland.com/court-just...in-prison.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

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