YOUNGSTOWN — A man charged with setting the fire that killed a girl he was accused of raping and her grandparents jumped to his death from a fourth-floor balcony inside Mahoning County Common Pleas Court on Monday — one day before jury selection in his death penalty trial was to begin.

Robert Seman Jr., 48, was being led by deputies from a courtroom after a status conference to a holding cell at the courthouse when he killed himself, said Mahoning County Sheriff Jerry Greene. Seman was accompanied by two deputies, unshackled and dressed for court in street clothes when he unexpectedly ran toward the edge and leapt over.

Greene told Tribune Chronicle newspartner WKBN 27 it was standard procedure that Seman wasn’t restrained by the deputies “due to the fact that the courts do not want individuals on trial to be seen with restraining devices on, or per se, in custody.”

Assistant Mahoning County Prosecutor Dawn Cantalamessa, who was prosecuting Seman, said security measures inside the courthouse are the responsibility of the sheriff’s office.

Greene was not available for comment in the afternoon, but an earlier statement indicated surprise over the incident.

“According to a couple of the attorneys and basically everybody there, it seemed like he was in pretty good spirits,” Greene said. “He was talking about the future of his trial, and he just decided to jump.”

Seman could have faced the death penalty if convicted in the deaths of Corrine Gump, 10, and her grandparents, William Schmidt, 63, and Judith Schmidt, 61. The March 2015 fire at the family’s home occurred the day Seman’s trial in Corrine’s rape was scheduled to begin in Youngstown. Investigators concluded that the fire was fueled by gasoline. Burns were found on Seman’s body after his arrest, prosecutors said.

Seman’s aggravated murder trial was scheduled to begin Tuesday in Portage County. His attorneys successfully argued he could not get a fair trial in Youngstown because of pretrial publicity. A Mahoning County judge declared a mistrial last September because a potential juror had prematurely concluded that Seman was guilty and discussed details about the case with fellow jurors.

Cantalamessa said Seman “knew” the evidence was against him, but later walked that comment back, saying minimal details about Seman’s motives were available.

“We are not going to comment until Jerry Greene, Mahoning County sheriff, is done investigating. We will reserve our comment until then,” she said.

Common Pleas Court Judge Maureen Sweeney and defense attorney Thomas Zena were contacted but unavailable for comment Monday.

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