8/30/11 Orrville murder victim beaten, strangled

  • By Nick Sabo
  • August 30, 2011
  • 329
                        
SUMMARY: Coroner's report finds strangulation cause of death, blood found throughout living room Evidence collected at the residence of an Orrville woman indicates she died in the course of a brutal beating, according to a coroner’s investigation. Jamie Hout, 27, McGill Street, Wooster, died from strangulation, the force of which broke a bone in her neck, according to findings by Wayne County Coroner Dr. Amy S. Jolliff. Hout was found dead in her McGill Street residence May 5. Lonnie T. Brown, 48, 7421 Back Orrville Road, has been charged in the death. The coroner’s investigation indicates Hout was struck and cut repeatedly in the face. Hout was found in her living room lying face down on the floor between a couch and coffee table in a state of undress, wearing only socks and a tank top. Blood was discovered on the floor beneath Hout, as well as the walls, ceiling and furniture. The crime scene, Jolliff reports, took 14 hours to document, including all suspected traces of blood. Large amounts of blood were discovered on the couch and beneath Hout’s head. Hout’s injuries included blunt force trauma and “sharp trauma”, Jolliff said. The injuries are consistent with a sustained beating, Jolliff said. Jolliff's findings are based on on-scene evidence, her examinations and a full autopsy conducted by the Summit County Medical Examiner's office. “Strangling ended (Hout’s) life,” Joliff said. “There is no way the injuries can tell us what occurred when.” The Summit County medical examiner's autopsy lists at least eight specific injuries, not including those to Hout’s neck. Jolliff was unable to determine a time of death. Jolliff said she was not able to fully examine the body until the crime scene had been processed. What caused the sharp trauma is also undetermined. Broken bottles were found in the residence, and some of the glass was lying on Hout’s body. However, the full autopsy report shows no glass in the wounds. “They are cuts, something cut the skin but I can’t tell if it was a knife,” Jolliff said. “These were not caused by the skin tearing from (the blunt force injuries).” Hout was found to have cocaine in her system and probably ingested it within six hours prior to her death, Jolliff said. Hout’s certificate of death indicates she was pregnant at the time. According to Orrville Police reports, Hout’s death was reported by Brown at approximately 7 p.m. May 5. Brown was arrested May 16. He has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder, a charge that carries 15 years to life in prison. A jury trial is scheduled for Sept. 26 in Wayne County Common Pleas Court.


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