Murder, Rape Suspect Jumps To Death From Ohio Courthouse

YOUNGSTOWN, OH — An Ohioan accused of setting a fire that killed a 10-year-old girl and her grandparents jumped from a courthouse balcony, killing himself, on Monday, reports say. His murder trial was set to begin on Wednesday.

Robert Seman Jr., 48, jumped from the fourth floor of the Mahoning County Courthouse in Youngstown. He was being escorted back to a cell after a pretrial hearing when he broke from officers and jumped off of a balcony, cleveland.com reports. He may have faced the death penalty if convicted.

Seman was not wearing handcuffs or any other type of restraint, the Youngstown Vindicator reports. Judges will frequently allow defendants to wear civilian clothes and no restraints to prevent a jury from getting an impression of guilt before the trial begins.

Seman was accused of setting a fire in March 2015 that resulted in the deaths of three people, including a 10-year-old girl. The New York Daily News says the girl was set to testify against Seman in a rape case, prompting him to set the fire. Prosecutors say they found burns on Seman's body after the house was consumed in flames.

Seman's attorney said his client maintained his innocence leading up to the trial and the suicide came as a shock. The Youngstown Vindicator reported that an employee at the courthouse said Seman's leap shook the courthouse.

"That was an evil, evil man," one prosecutor told the Vindicator.

Family and friends of the girl and her family seemed torn by the suicide. Some lamented the lack of true justice for the family, saying Seman took the easy way out. One of Seman's neighbors told the Vindicator that “Lucifer is digesting the weirdest, meanest soul that was ever on this earth.”

Photo from Mahoning County Sheriff's Office via AP