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Man pleads guilty in murder

WARREN – A 27-year-old Warren man avoided the death penalty, but received a life sentence with no parole after pleading guilty to aggravated murder and other felony charges in connection to the stabbing death of his great-uncle last November.

Marcus Alan Honsaker, of Reo Court NW, was sentenced by Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge Peter Kontos before a packed courtroom Monday afternoon.

Honsaker also pleaded guilty to two charges of aggravated robbery and one charge each of aggravated burglary and tampering with evidence. He was sentenced to 11 years for each of the robbery and burglary counts and 36 months for the tampering charge. Prosecutors removed the death penalty specifications against Honsaker in exchange for the guilty pleas.

Honsaker was indicted in the murder of 71-year-old Donald Giovannone, who is the brother of Honsaker’s grandmother. Giovannone was stabbed to death Nov. 20 inside his home on Atlantic Street NW.

A friend of the man found his body after checking on Giovannone after he had missed a doctor’s appointment.

Kontos, before pronouncing sentence, delivered a blistering rebuke of the defendant for tearing apart his family by his actions.

“You made the decision to take part in those vile acts. You treated him (Giovannone) more like an insignificant vermin. You not only violated the sanctity of human life, you violated the sanctity of one’s home,” Kontos said.

Assistant Trumbull County Prosecutor Christopher Becker said he was accepting of the plea bargain arrangement that took the death penalty off the table. He cited the recent difficulty of getting a death penalty conviction in Ohio.

“We’ve only had three death sentences here in the last few years, one being in Trumbull County,” Becker said. “I believe it was the best outcome of this case that involved an entire family.”

Before sentencing, the Giovannone’s niece, Bobbie Marsh, delivered an emotional impact statement before the full courtroom that included many members of Giovannone’s family.

She said the victim, know to all as “Gio,” was a kind person who was always thinking of others. Giovannone was the eldest child who kept the family together after the passing of his parents, Marsh said.

“He did not deserve to be brutally taken from us before his natural time,” Marsh said.”Today is his only daughter’s birthday. Her name is Mavis. She won’t be getting a phone call or be able to Skype with her dad today or ever again.”

Marsh said the daughter is in a wheelchair and suffers from multiple sclerosis. She was unable to make the trip from Germany to say goodbye to her father.

Becker lauded the work of the Warren Police Department, especially detective John Greaver, who turned up crucial evidence, including the murder weapon and DNA from the defendant’s clothing that was deposited into a construction waste bin behind the Jamestown Village Plaza.

“It was a phenomenal job considering the police were given a case with no leads,” Becker said.

Becker said police were alerted by the man who gave Honsaker a ride after he left Giovannone’s pickup truck in the parking lot of the Giant Eagle. The man had driven the defendant to the waste bin.

Becker speculated that robbery may have been the motive for the crime. He speculated the victim usually took a hunting trip after the Thanksgiving holiday and carried a large sum of money. He said he didn’t know of any prior animosity between Honsaker and his great-uncle.

gvogrin@tribtoday.com

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