Woman’s death ruled a homicide
By CHRISTOPHER BOBBY Tribune ChronicleWARREN - The death of a North Bloomfield woman has been ruled a homicide.
Marcella Pitts, 74, 9033 Combs Road, was found Sept. 22 inside her mobile home by a neighbor beaten in the head and chest area.
Pitts was treated at Geauga Medical Center then transferred to a nursing home in Geauga County. She wasn't able to tell deputies much about what happened.
She died Feb. 26, and her body was sent to Cuyahoga County Coroner's Office, which contracts with Geauga County to perform autopsies.
Trumbull County Sheriff's detectives were informed of the ruling late last week from Geauga Coroner Dr. Kevin Chartrand based on results of an autopsy by Dr. Kenneth Gerston with the Cuyahoga County Coroner's Office.
The ruling was turned over to assistant Trumbull County prosecutor Michael Burnett, who started reviewing the case this week and who is seeking a clarification on the medical findings.
''From the way I'm reading this report, it's unclear whether we have a murder or a burglary in which a felonious assault occurred,'' Burnett said Tuesday.
Burnett questions the ruling that lists the cause of death as hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, or more plainly heart disease.
The report also lists four additional conditions, including kidney failure, bed sores, diabetes and remote trauma from the beating.
As a prosecutor who could be called on to take a case to court should anyone ever get arrested for the beating, Burnett said he needs a more solid link between the injuries and the ruling.
In the meantime, sheriff's detectives have been investigating the death.
Detective Michael Yannucci processed the crime scene shortly after the incident.
''She said she heard noises coming from the rear of the trailer, but there wasn't much forced entry at the door,'' Yannucci said of Pitts. He said there were no similar break-ins or burglaries in the area last fall, and it's unclear if anything was taken from her home.
Neighbors interviewed reported hearing or seeing nothing unusual other than the neighbor who found Pitts and said she was heard crying that she was beaten up and her home broken into.
Pitts, who was vision-impaired to a certain extent, told deputies who first responded that she had no idea who or how many people were in her house that night.
