The grandson of the 94-year-old victim of convicted murderer Jacob LaRosa blames Ohio’s elected officials for giving the killer a chance for freedom in 19 years, and then every five years after that.
“We owe this miscarriage of justice to a Republican governor and legislature,” said Brian Kirk, who questioned how this new state law could happen in a place known for its tough on crime, common sense approach to governing.
LaRosa was sentenced to life without parole plus 31 years in 2018 after pleading guilty to a host of crimes surrounding the 2015 brutal slaying of Marie Belcastro at her Niles home.
“If you’re familiar with my grandmother’s death you know that Marie was still living in her own home, independently, 94 years young. She was as excited as ever about her church and prayer groups, her family and friends, and her cooking. She also developed a love for fly-fishing at age 90, which she continued to nurture,” Kirk said, in a prepared statement.
“My grandmother was full of energy, love, laughter and light, and showed no signs of slowing down. Anyone who ever met her instantly fell in love. She was quick with a joke, even quicker with a laugh. I thought for sure she’d live to 100.”
On March 31, 2015, that life ended in the home Belcastro’s father built. The perpetrator was then-15-year-old LaRosa. So horrifying were LaRosa’s crimes, including attempted rape, that Judge Wyatt McKay gave him the extraordinary sentence for the teen who was charged as an adult.
Read more in Sunday’s Tribune Chronicle.
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