Teen killed in Warren arson shocks community

3 arrested in homicide makes tragedy No. 4 story of year

WARREN -- Tragedy casted a grim shadow over Warren only 19 days into the new year.

Shortly before 2 a.m. the morning of Jan. 19, fire crews were dispatched to a home on the city's westside that was engulfed in flames.

The fire resulted in the death of 16-year-old Chassidy Broadstone, who was found lying on the floor of an upstairs bathroom. fire Chief Ken Nussle, said two young females, relatives of Boardstone, had escaped from a second-story window.

But Nussle said that firefighters weren't able to reach the teen fire victim, "The stairwell was completely incinerated. There was no way they could have escaped by way of the first floor."

Suspecting arson, the matter was treated by Warren police detectives as a homicide.

A month after the fire, Warren police Chief Eric Merkel confirmed the arrest of two suspects, Patricia Ann Zarlingo, 27, and Brendan Michael Daviduk, 28, being held without bond on arson and homicide charges.

The pair were arrested Feb. 1 at their Manchester Avenue home on the West Side of Youngstown. Police noted there was a U-Haul parked in the driveway.

Not long after their arrest, intel given to investigators led to the arrest of a third suspect, 24-year-old Zackary Gurd.

Gurd was found to have boarded a Greyhound bus heading south, fleeing the Mahoning Valley area. Investigators believed then that Gurd was heading toward Florida.

After unboarding in Richmond, Virgina, Gurd then fled on foot from the bus station and was tracked down by U.S. Marshals in Virginia to a neighborhood in Chester, Virgina, where he was arrested.

An affidavit written by detective Michael Altiere reveals detectives linked Gurd to the fatal fire using cellphone tracking and video camera footage.

Detectives publicly lauded the help of community members who provided information that helped lead to the arrests of the three.

The Warren community, while shaken by the tragedy, came together for donation drives and vigils in remembrance of Chassidy.

Carrying a banner reading "Long Live Chassidy" grieving classmates of Chassidy walked in solidarity through the halls of Warren G. Harding High School to commemorate her short life.

Chassidy was in her junior year at the school.

Elsewhere in the city, a crowd of 200 gathered in Packard Park for a memorial and balloon release filling the sky with green -- Chassidy's favorite color.

According to police detectives, Gurd is believed to have started the fire after he was caught on video carrying a gas can around the garage area of the Nevada Avenue home.

The video captures Gurd being thrown back against a wall as flames begin coming from the doorway.

Two people can be seen on the footage carrying items, a television and an XBox, out of the home moments before the home was lit ablaze.

Days before the fire, an adult woman living at the residence told police a strong odor of gasoline had been noticeable outside the home, according to a police report taken after the fire.

Traces of gasoline were found at the origin site, fire marshals said the fire started somewhere on the first floor of the home.

The woman, who wasn't at the home during the fire, said she had been having issues with two men.

Investigators say there were children in common with the defendant's and Chassidy's family.

Police believed there was an ongoing feud regarding child support between the parents, but Chassidy was not involved in the dispute.

Approaching the one-year anniversary of the arson-death of Chassidy, her alleged killers may each stand before a jury with trial dates set for early 2024.

Court records show Zarlingo's expected jury trial is scheduled for April 1, 2024. Her attorneys are Anthony Meranto and Thomas Zena.

Daviduk's jury trial date has been set for the morning of May 14, 2024. He is represented by attorneys Louis M. Defabio and Rhys Brendan Cartwright-Jones.

Both capital cases would take place before Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge Sean O'Brien.

After appearing in the courtroom of Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge Cynthia Rice last week, Gurd, who is represented by Mary Ellen Ditchey and Kevin Michael Cafferkey, has an additional hearing scheduled for Friday that could potentially bring a plea agreement.

Depending on the outcome, a jury trial date is scheduled for Feb. 12, 2024.

All three defendants face aggravated murder and arson charges in the matter.

Legal counsel for Zarlingo, Daviduk and Gurd have argued against the capital component that could place each of them on Ohio's death row.

Prosecutors confirmed this is a death penalty-level case because state law provides for aggravating circumstances that other crimes were being committed while the murder was taking place and the offenses were committed with prior calculation and design.

Attorneys for the defendants have pushed back on this, arguing in separate hearings the death penalty violates international law, which bans the option of the death penalty.

Trumbull County Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Becker has asked the presiding judges to dismiss the argument, stating in a hearing for Gurd on Aug. 9 that international law claims have been overruled on several occasions by the Ohio Supreme Court.

Each defendant's attorneys have filed motions requesting, and having been granted by the court, the usage of mitigation experts sought by criminal defense teams to gather background information that could sway a jury from imposing a death sentence on the trio.

The three are housed in the Trumbull County jail.