Sentenced: At 15 Jacob Larosa Tried To Rape A 94YO As He Beat Her To Death With A Flashlight

[Sugar Cookie]

An Ohio man who was 15 when he tried to rape his 94-year-old neighbor as he beat her to death with a flashlight learned his fate this week.

A Trumbull County judge on Friday sentenced Jacob LaRosa, now 19, to life in prison without parole for the March 2015 robbery, attempted rape, and murder of Marie Belcastro. The Vindicator reported that LaRosa broke into Belcastro’s home for cash to purchase alcohol. Belcastro reportedly knew her killer as he used to mow her lawn.

The Tribune Chronicle reported that the court learned how the then-15-year-old initially beat Belcastro with a Mag flashlight in her living room before dragging her to the bedroom and trying to rape her. At some point, he took possessions from the dining room and basement. Prosecutors claimed pieces of the 80-pound woman’s skull and hearing aid were recovered from the dining room.

“The physical evidence confirms that Marie Belcastro was indeed alive throughout the duration of these three separate assaults,” first assistant prosecutor Chris Becker wrote in a memorandum filed in May, per the Chronicle.

“One can only imagine the terror that went through her mind as this defendant struck her, over and over again, and then tried to rape her lifeless, dying body.”

WKBN reported that investigators found LaRosa in his home vomiting in his bathroom with blood on his hands and underwear. The teen was taken to the hospital as he was rambling and appeared intoxicated. A neighbor also told the outlet that a home surveillance camera caught him in a nearby alleyway on the day in question.

Trumbull County Coroner Dr. Humphrey Germaniuk testified during the trial that Belcastro’s face was “crushed” in the attack. He also said the assault was “so severe” that it’s unclear how many times LaRosa bludgeoned the nonagenarian with the flashlight, The Vindicator previously reported.

The judge said he reviewed five mitigating factors which could’ve reduced LaRosa’s sentence and found that none applied. In fact, Becker told The Vindicator after Friday’s sentencing hearing that LaRosa’s age saved him from the death penalty. Prosecutors alleged during the trial that LaRosa bragged to fellow inmates that he wanted to “hide her body and save her for later.”

https://www.crimeonline.com/2018/10...hlight-tries-to-rape-her-lifeless-dying-body/

 

[Sugar Cookie]

 

[Keepalowprofile]

This was sickening to read.

The judge made the right decision to give him LWOP.

 

[LFODBiker]

The only comfort I have here is that it seems that Ohio has some of the worst and most violent prisons in the country.

Have fun making toilet wine you shit-stained alcoholic. The world isn't going to miss you.

 

[Ripley]

Omg that poor woman. What an utterly worthless piece of shit. I hope another inmate does a Jeffrey Dahmer on him, otherwise Ohio will spend the next 60 years feeding his fat ass.

 

[Sejanus]

May he suffer endlessly behind bar for the rest of his days.
He should just off himself now to avoid all the headaches.

 

[JackBurton]

Good judge, very righteous and heartwarming punishment for this young man.

Wonder what his family is like, if he has one. Families of criminals are usually criminal filth as well

 

[Siobhan]

Good judge, very righteous and heartwarming punishment for this young man.

Wonder what his family is like, if he has one. Families of criminals are usually criminal filth as well

Learned behavior = children see, children do.

 

[Satanica]

And he's a ginger! That's probably not good in prison.

 

[Sugar Cookie]

Aug 15, 2023

Jacob LaRosa, convicted in 2015 for fatally beating and attempting to rape a 94-year-old woman, had an appeal for postconviction relief denied Monday.

Retired Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge W. Wyatt McKay in December 2022 ruled that LaRosa was not entitled to an evidentiary hearing on a petition for postconviction relief.

Now, a three-judge panel of the 11th District Ohio Court of Appeals has sided with the state.

McKay had sentenced LaRosa to life in prison for the beating death and attempted rape of Marie Belcastro of Niles. LaRosa was a teenager at the time of the attack.

Previous attempts to challenge the convictions at the court of appeals and Ohio Supreme Court proved unsuccessful, with both ruling against him.

LaRosa then tried filing a petition for postconviction relief with McKay, claiming he had ineffective counsel, legal counsel should have sought a change of venue and his no contest plea should have been set aside.

Appeal denied for Jacob LaRosa, who was teenager when he killed Marie Belcastro

WARREN — Jacob LaRosa, convicted in 2015 for fatally beating and attempting to rape a 94-year-old woman, had an appeal for ...

www.tribtoday.com

Sentence Information

Aggregate Sentence Life without Parole
Parole Eligibility Years 25 years

Expected Release Date/Parole Eligibility Date 03/23/2040


Parole Hearing Information

Next Parole Board Hearing/Review Month February 2040

 

[Crazy Cat Lady]

What a disgusting creep. And poor Marie: she lived 94 years only to have her life beaten out of her by this shit stain.

 

[Busy Bee]

Where are Mrs. Belcastros appeal rights, when does she and her Family get any legal relief? They don’t! Mr larosa took her life! She gave him a job and he did this to her! He did something he can never right, he should remain in prison for the rest of his life! I’d like to wipe that smile from his lips!