A Man From Meadville Has Been Extradited From Ohio To Face Homicide And Other Accusations

For the suspected murder of another Meadville man, whose corpse was discovered by a bystander on Nov. 3 along a remote road in western Pennsylvania, a Meadville man has been extradited from Ohio to face charges.

After appearing before Mercer County Court of Common Pleas Judge Tedd Nesbit at 5:10 p.m. on Wednesday, Johnny F. Henry Jr., 31, was booked without a bond into the Mercer County Jail.

Henry was taken from the Franklin County (Ohio) Corrections Center II jail in Columbus, Ohio, where he had been kept for more than two weeks in anticipation of extradition, by deputies from the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office at about 1:30 in the afternoon.

One day after the Pennsylvania State Police filed homicide and other charges against Henry for allegedly killing Joseph DeTello, 40, of Meadville, Henry was apprehended in the Columbus, Ohio, region on Nov. 15 on the basis of a Mercer County warrant.

A Meadville man has been brought back from Ohio to face charges for the alleged murder of another Meadville man whose body was found by a passerby Nov. 3 along a rural road in western Pennsylvania.

— New Castle News (@NewCastleNews) December 1, 2022

According to the county’s online court records system, Henry waived an extradition hearing in Franklin County’s Court of Common Pleas on November 23. Authorities from Pennsylvania were able to travel to Ohio on Wednesday to pick up Henry thanks to the extradition request being waived.

The State Police claim On November 3, Henry strangled DeTello at a home in Jackson Township, Mercer County.

State police claim that Henry then transported DeTello’s body to Lawrence County in his tan Volvo sport utility vehicle, leaving the body and the SUV by Young Road in Slippery Rock Township.

According to authorities, a passing driver stopped after seeing DeTello laying on the ground outside the SUV at about 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 3. According to police accounts, a bystander and two passing bicycles performed CPR on DeTello while he was not breathing until emergency personnel arrived.

DeTello’s death was determined to be a homicide from suffocation on November 4 by an autopsy. The autopsy also revealed that DeTello had small rocks and a 12-inch piece of fabric caught in his throat in addition to multiple scratches and abrasions on his head and torso.

According to Mercer County District Attorney Peter Acker, Pennsylvania State Police got a tip on Nov. 10 that the murder might have taken place in a house close to Lake Latonka in Mercer County.

Although court records show Henry and DeTello knew one another, the alleged motivation for the crime is still unknown.

In connection with the death of DeTello, Henry has been extradited back to Pennsylvania to stand trial on homicide, aggravated and simple assault, strangling, illegal use of a vehicle, and mistreatment of a body charges.

Although Henry’s criminal complaint and arrest affidavit were submitted on November 14 through the Mercer County Court of Common Pleas, they were sealed for a period of 72 hours at the Pennsylvania State Police’s request.

The immediate release of the charges and the warrant, according to the police, “would greatly jeopardize the ability of law enforcement to take Henry into custody” and put potential witnesses in immediate danger, according to the affidavit of probable cause to arrest Henry.

There is no set date for Henry’s preliminary hearing on the criminal homicide and other accusations. Before Grove City Magisterial District Judge Douglas Straub, the preliminary hearing will be scheduled.

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