by Bob Walsh
Robert Seman, Jr, was 48 years old when he shuffled off this mortal coil. He was one day from trial for raping a ten-year old girl and setting a fire that killed the girl and her two grandparents.
He was walking with officers (it is unclear to me if he was in custody or not) when he broke away from the cops, ran to the nearby balcony and leapt from the fourth floor of the courthouse, turning into a street pizza on impact. There is good quality news footage of the incident so there is no question about it being a voluntary act on his part (as opposed to being helped over the railing by the cops).
The cops seemed to be surprised by his action, saying he seemed to be upbeat and positive as jury selection was about to begin. I guess he had a change of heart. No loss. In fact I expect it saved the state of Ohio significant costs, and disruption to the lives of the jurors and the victim's families.
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