PAINESVILLE —
Two more minutes and Scot Roberston would have made the gruesome discovery of his mother’s mutilated body — stabbed more than 90 times — buried under clothing and a mattress.
“I had my hand on the mattress, lifting it up,” he said, “and I started to move the clothes and stuff when the Madison police officers came in and said I had to leave.”
Robertson didn’t know it at the time, but his hand was within inches of his mother’s body on June 13, he testified in Zachary Weimer’s murder trial in Lake County Common Pleas Court on Tuesday.
The jury heard opening arguments and testimony as Weimer, 23, faces 17 charges including aggravated murder, burglary and receiving stolen property. He is accused of stabbing 77-year-old Madison Township resident Eleanor Robertson more than 90 times before dousing her body with chemicals and robbing the house of valuables.
In his opening arguments, assistant Lake County public defender James Mathews said the prosecution’s lack of DNA evidence and eyewitnesses in the case are “holes.”
“There were extensive searches of the house and none of Zack’s fingerprints, none of his DNA was found,” Mathews said.
Mathews also told the jury that investigators failed to find Robertson’s DNA on Weimer, his clothing, or in any of the vehicles he was in on or after June 13.
“There are no eyewitnesses who saw him enter or exit (Robertson’s) house,” Mathews said. “This was an incredible amount of investigation. They pulled out all the stops, and there are a lot of holes in the state’s case.”
Lake County assistant prosecutor, Mark Bartolotta, opened the state’s case with physical evidence against Weimer — four shoe prints in Robertson’s bedroom, on the mattress cover that was hiding Robertson’s body.
“The investigators, they found those shoe prints and then they just needed the shoes to compare them with — white, high-top Nike shoes — and (Weimer’s) shoes match the size, shape, model and same wear pattern as the shoe prints in Eleanor’s bedroom,” he said.
Bartolotta said the evidence against Weimer, including recorded police questioning and testimony from Weimer’s jail house friend, will tell the story of what happened to Roberston.
There is no mystery as to why Robertson died, he said.
“This was about (Weimer’s) addiction,” Bartolotta said. “You got the money, that’s all he cares about, not the string of victims. Drug use, drug sales, it’s not a victimless crime. It becomes all that matters to them — get the money, get the drugs, get the high — that’s all that they care about.”
For her part in the murder and burglary, Weimer’s mother, Danna Weimer of Austinburg Township, was convicted of 17 identical charges last month in Lake County Common Pleas Court. She will be sentenced by Judge Eugene Lucci on Dec. 12, court records show.
She has also requested a public defender for purposes of appeal, court records show.
Mathews didn’t assert his client’s innocence, but asked the jury to stick to the letter of the law — no emotions allowed.
“There are a lot of holes in the state’s case, and you can’t allow yourself to fill those holes with the pain of the victim’s family and your own anger,” he said. “Be emotionally detached fact finders for this court. The state has not met its burden in this case.”
Local News
Related Photos
-
MARGIE NETZEL / Star Beacon ACCUSED MURDERER Zachary Weimer, 23, prepares to listen to testimony in Lake County Common Pleas Court on Tuesday.
Discussion
And now it’s son’s turn
Opening arguments begin in second trial in murder of Eleanor Robertson
- Local News
-
-
GOTL gets ‘likeable’ on Facebook
Village police officers are taking a new approach to an old problem — finding wanted criminals.
-
New facility in Ashtabula Plaza offers digital X-rays, ultrasounds
People needed an X-ray need not look far, thanks to University Hospitals’ new, state-of-the-art imaging facility at UH Ashtabula Health Center, 2131 Lake Ave., in the Ashtabula Plaza.
-
Stretch of Rt. 193 open, another to close
A section of Route 193 in Sheffield and Kingsville townships closed for repairs has reopened, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation’s District Four office in Akron.
-
Ashtabula Brass Band presents free concert tonight
The Ashtabula Brass Band will present a free spring concert at 7 tonight in the auditorium at Kent State University Ashtabula.
-
Physicals today for Lakeside student-athletes
Any Lakeside High School or Lakeside Junior High School student-athletes who needs a physical can get one today during school hours.
-
Woman charged after stabbing boyfriend in arm
A Cherry Valley woman is being charged with felonious assault and domestic violence after allegedly stabbing her boyfriend Sunday night.
-
City to host Tire Amnesty Day June 1
The city will host Tire Amnesty Day on June 1 to help residents get rid of scrap tires, City Manager Jim Timonere said at Monday’s City Council meeting.
-
Final count begins for special election
The official outcome of the May 7 special election should be known by the end of the week.
-
White Turkey moving on without its beloved owner
Mother’s Day weekend saw the White Turkey Drive-In in Conneaut launch its 61st year in business, but nobody connected with the curbside restaurant felt like celebrating.
-
Bob Evans employee may face fraud charges
A Bob Evans employee could be facing fraud charges after allegedly engaging in a scheme to defraud customers through unauthorized use of their credit cards.
- More Local News Headlines
-
GOTL gets ‘likeable’ on Facebook
