BOARDMAN - A man who police say stabbed his wife and son and then tried to jump off the Market Street Bridge remains in Mahoning County Jail on $2 million bond.
Mahoning County Court Judge Joseph Houser set the bond Tuesday for John Sylvester, 37, who faces charges of felonious assault and attempted murder following the attacks on Sunday. He entered no plea to the charges during his initial court appearance Tuesday morning in Mahoning County Court in Boardman.
Sylvester is accused of cutting his wife, Kelli M. Sylvester, 30, in the neck, shoulder and on both hands. He also is facing charges that accuse him of cutting his 2-year-old son's foot during the altercation.
Kelli Sylvester was taken to St. Elizabeth Health Center for treatment. After the incident, John Sylvester then fled to the Market Street Bridge in Youngstown where police talked him down off the ledge. Police said he was attempting to commit suicide and that he didn't remember what happened earlier in the day.
A preliminary hearing was set for July 10, also in Mahoning County Court in Boardman.
John Sylvester, according to court records, was convicted in 1999 of attempted murder for shooting his ex-girlfriend and was sentenced to 10 to 28 years in prison. During the court case, records show, his attorney unsuccessfully tried to argue that Sylvester was not guilty by reason of insanity. The incident occurred almost exactly 16 years ago.