Friday, January 19th, 2018

Grand jury files murder indictment

By Sydney Albert
CELINA - Francy Majo, 19, Coldwater, has been indicted by a grand jury on an unclassified charge of murder in connection to the death of Sandra Renner, 47, in her Coldwater apartment.
A grand jury returned the indictment on Thursday, and the newspaper was shown the indictment to be served to Majo this morning. An indictment is a formal charge and does not indicate guilt or innocence. Majo is tentatively scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 26.
Majo made his initial court appearance in Celina Municipal Court on Jan. 5 on an unclassified felony murder charge. Police documents say he had confessed to the stabbing death of Renner, his neighbor, but Majo has not pleaded guilty to the charges against him in court.
The victim's mother, Sherry McCord, reportedly had called Mercer County 9-1-1 at about 8:41 a.m. Jan. 3. In the recording of the call, which was requested by the newspaper, McCord said she had found her daughter lying face up on Renner's living room floor at 914 N. Elm St. McCord said in the call that she had found Renner cold to the touch and naked with "blood all over her ..." McCord said the last time she'd spoken with her daughter had been on Dec. 29. Renner reportedly had several lacerations and obvious signs indicated a physical struggle. Coldwater EMS responded and confirmed Renner had died.
Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation employees had arrived and begun searching the apartment for evidence, according to court documents. During an initial examination, they reportedly found that Renner had multiple stab wounds to her chest.
In a court document, Coldwater Police Detective David Dues said he'd contacted three occupants of a neighboring apartment on Jan. 3. The fourth resident, Majo, had arrived home from work in the early morning hours of Jan. 4.
Majo had been interviewed with the assistance of an interpreter fluent in Marshallese and initially had denied any involvement in Renner's death, according to court documents. When presented with pictures of evidence collected from the apartment complex's dumpster, Majo reportedly eventually had admitted the items collected from the dumpster were his and that he had discarded them in the dumpster.
According to court documents, Majo then had said that a few days prior - he believed it was Dec. 31 - he had walked to Sandra Renner's apartment, had stabbed her to death and then left the scene.
Coldwater Police Chief Jason Miller had told the newspaper that DNA samples had been collected from Renner's body, which would help investigators determine if others had been involved.
Subscriber and paid stories on this date
Mercer County group attending rally where Trump will speak
By SYDNEY ALBERT and WILLIAM KINCAID
newsdept@dailystandard.com
FORT RECOVERY - Scores of pro-life advocates filled Mary Help of Christians Catholic Church on Thursday evening to show support for people making the long trek to today's March for Life in Washington, D.C.
CELINA - A local church ministry in the coming years aims to build four new homes in the northwest section of town for families in need.
The Celina
Minster outlasts New Bremen 47-44
MINSTER - The latest edition of the Battle of Route 66 between New Bremen and Minster in girls basketball lived up to its name.
But the team that has dominated the series won again.
FORT RECOVERY - The first three minutes of the first quarter and the first minute of the fourth quarter were the key moments for Versailles on Thursday night.
Koenig scores 17 points in victory
MARIA STEIN - Marion Local scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to break open a close game, and then pulled away down the stretch for a 41-28 victory over Parkway Thursday night at the Hangar.
Area Roundup
Compiled by Gary R. Rasberry
Ottawa-Glandorf jumped out to a 22-6 first quarter lead on Celina and never looked back as the state-ranked Titans remained unbeaten in Western Buckeye League girls basketball play with a 68-39 win over the Bulldogs at the Fieldhouse on Thursday.