042517...R CLEMENS 4...Warren...04-25-17...Sean Michael Clemens of Liberty, center, is escorted by TC Sheriff Deputies to his arraignment before Common Pleas Judge W. Wyatt McKay Tuesday afternoon...by R. Michael Semple

LIBERTY — An elderly woman fought for her life when a man who once mowed her lawn attacked her in bed and killed her with her own knife before robbing her, according to investigators who brought charges against the man.

Jane Larue Brown, 84, was found dead around 6 a.m. Monday in her 503 Churchill Hubbard Road home. Bags of items stolen from her home, including a television and a computer, were found during a search of 420 Churchill Hubbard Road, according to an affidavit filed Tuesday by Liberty police detective Ray Buhala.

Sean M. Clemens, 33, 420 Churchill Hubbard Road, appeared Tuesday before Judge W. Wyatt McKay in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court, where McKay denied him bond on charges of aggravated murder, aggravated robbery and attempted burglary.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled 1:30 p.m. May 3, and a grand jury is expected to convene before the hearing, said assistant Trumbull County Prosecutor Chris Becker.

Brown was found dead by Liberty police officers who went to check on her after her 2017 Cadillac sports utility vehicle was found on fire about a block away on an empty wooded lot on East Street.

Clemens, who was led into the court in shackles and wearing an orange jump suit, had visible wounds on his forehead, with patches of hair missing. An affidavit states Clemens told police his hair was singed off, and some of his dog’s fur was singed, when he used gasoline he grabbed from his garage to start a fire in Brown’s SUV.

Officers found Brown’s front door unlocked and a glass back door shattered, with a sledge hammer left nearby, according to the affidavit. Brown was in her bed, bloodied with apparent stab wounds around her head and neck, the document states.

There were bruises on her arms, “consistent with defensive wounds prior to her death,” Trumbull County Coroner Dr. Humphrey Germaniuk told investigators, according to the affidavit.

During an interview with Trumbull County Sheriff’s Office detective Sgt. Mike Yannucci, Clemens said he took one of Brown’s hand shovels from the garden — which was found under her body, according to the affidavit. Clemens told Yannucci he found Brown sleeping, grabbed one of her knives and used it to slit her throat, the affidavit states.

He then loaded up her Cadillac with the stolen items, went home to unload the goods and then drove back into the woods with his dogs, the affidavit states.

One of the women who called 911 lives next to the lot where the car was found, and reported her mother heard shouting, two loud pops, and then saw a man with two dogs take off running down East Street, according to the Trumbull County 911 Center recording.

Officers first went to Clemens’ home when one of the officers learned a resident of 420 Churchill Hubbard Road had mowed Brown’s lawn before, the affidavit states. When he went to ring the door bell, he saw blood on the open back door, the affidavit states. Police asked McKay for a search warrant and it was granted.

Inside Clemens’ home, police found a ripped $10 bill and the other half was in Brown’s house, the document states.

Police first spoke to Clemens when he arrived home with a co-worker from a jobsite in Poland after receiving a phone call that there was police tape and police officers around his home, the document states. Clemens’ job and the company he worked for is not revealed in the court documents.

Clemens told police he picked up the unnamed co-worker at 7:30 a.m. and the two went to a methadone clinic, where Clemens received treatment, the affidavit states.

“During the drive to the methadone clinic, the co-worker stated that Clemens said he got into a lot of trouble last night and he beat someone up and he thinks they’re dead. Clemens also made a statement that he was going to spend the rest of his life in prison,” the affidavit states. As the morning progressed, Clemens told his co-worker other bits of information about the murder — that he cut a woman’s throat and that he should have picked a different spot to ditch the Cadillac, according to the affidavit.

The fire in the Cadillac was quickly put out and the vehicle did not appear damaged on the outside.

Neighbors spoke highly of Brown, who had family in the area, including children, but lived alone. Carmen Frazier, 515 Churchill Hubbard Road, said Brown walked in the neighborhood frequently, was sweet and vivacious.

Becker praised law enforcement for zeroing in on a suspect quickly.

“Liberty police, along with the Trumbull County Homicide Task Force as well as (the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation) did an excellent job of getting this solved within a 12-hour period. They did an excellent job,” Becker said.

rfox@tribtoday.com