(STEUBENVILLE, Ohio) -- Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and Jefferson County Sheriff Fred Abdalla announced today that a Cleveland man has been convicted in connection with two homicides that occurred nearly 40 years ago.
A Jefferson County jury found Stanley Rusnak, 65, guilty of two counts of murder this afternoon in connection with the deaths of his uncle, James Kelsie Noble, 75, and Noble's sister-in-law and caretaker, Sophie Groch Bell, 52. The homicides happened during a home invasion at Noble's residence in Piney Fork, Ohio, on April 1, 1975.
Following the guilty verdicts, Judge Joseph Bruzzese sentenced Rusnak to life in prison with parole eligibility after 30 years.
The jury acquitted Rusnak for the death of Robert Scott, 78, who was killed sometime between July 1, 1977 and July 19, 1977. Scott's body has never been found, however authorities at the time did find evidence of a home invasion and homicide at Scott's residence in Rayland.
The cases were investigated by authorities with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, with assistance from the Attorney General's Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI). Prosecutors with Attorney General DeWine's Special Prosecutions Section prosecuted the case.
"Cases like this are the reason that I created the Ohio Unsolved Homicides Initiative within the Attorney General's Office, and I am happy that, despite the fact that nearly 40 years have gone by, we now have justice for Mr. Noble and Ms. Bell," said Attorney General DeWine.
"All three victims are resting in peace tonight," said Sheriff Abdalla. "I want to thank the witnesses for testifying, Attorney General DeWine's office for assisting with the investigation and prosecution, the jury for their verdict, and the judge for his sentence. This man is a serial killer, and today justice was served."
Rusnak was living in Cleveland at the time of his arrest in August 2014.
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Media Contacts:
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