Jury trial date moved in arson homicide case
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WARREN -- A Trumbull County Common Pleas Court judge Wednesday rescheduled a jury trial for one of three co-defendants charged in connection to the January 2023 arson that killed 16-year-old Chassidy Broadstone.
Judge Sean O'Brien granted a motion made by Brendan Daviduk's attorneys, Rhys Brendan Cartwright-Jones and Louis M. Defabio, to continue the start date until June 17. It had been scheduled to start May 14.
The attorney's said they requested the delay because of a motion for disclosure of what will be around 1,000 records from Mahoning County Children Services relating to their client.
The attorneys were also looking to obtain records from Trumbull County Children Services.
The trial date of co-defendant Patricia Zarlingo also has been delayed from April 1 to July 23. Her case is also before O'Brien.
Defabio said the information contains mitigation evidence if the capital murder case was to move into the second phase known as the penalty phase. At that stage, the defense would be given the opportunity to gather mitigating evidence to reduce the likelihood of Daviduk receiving the death penalty.
Daviduk faces two counts of aggravated murder with death penalty specifications, two counts of attempted aggravated murder, first-degree aggravated arson, second-degree aggravated arson, aggravated burglary and tampering with evidence.
The aggravated murder specifications state a felony was committed in the act of the murder.
The evidence would have to be reviewed by the attorney's along with their mitigation expert, which Defabio said could take time, with the added hurdle of gathering witnesses or additional evidence that could arise from the documents.
There was no objection to the motion to delay the trial from Trumbull County Assistant Prosecutors Chris Becker and Michael Burnett.
The attorney's will meet with the expert ahead of the final pretrial April 17.
In another motion, Daviduk's attorneys sought the removal of the death penalty, citing that it violates international law. The motion, common for defense teams to file in capital murder cases, was denied by O'Brien.
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