BUCYRUS—Thomas Brown, 49, of Bucyrus, was arraigned Monday afternoon in the Crawford County Common Pleas Court.
Brown has been indicted on two counts of murder.
The first count, unclassified murder, stipulates that Brown purposefully caused the death of Sean Casarro on January 22, 2023.
If convicted of murder, Brown faces life in prison with the possibility of parole after serving fifteen years of the sentence.
The second count, involuntary manslaughter, stipulates that Cassaro died during the commission of a felony. That felony is felonious assault. If convicted of involuntary manslaughter, Brown could serve up to eleven years in prison.
Brown’s attorney, James Mayer of Mansfield, waived the reading of the indictment, and Brown entered a plea of not guilty to both counts.
Crawford County Common Pleas Court Judge Sean Leuthold took comments from Prosecutor Matt Crall and defense attorney James Mayer to determine bond.
Prosecutor Matt Crall told the court regarding the seriousness of the crime, “It doesn’t get much worse than this.”
Crall listed the state’s assertions, including alcohol as a driving factor because Brown had been drinking with friends and then went to “to one of our local establishments” and was drinking there.
Brown allegedly had a conversation via text with the property owner (Rochelle Leonhardt) and then went to her home.
She was the girlfriend of Sean Cassaro. According to Crall, Cassaro found the two of them, and the altercation occurred. According to the coroner’s reports, the method of death was strangulation, and the manner of death was a homicide.
Crall told the Judge that the state has consulted with an expert on strangulation and a Jujutsu expert because that is relevant to how the injury was inflicted.
In speaking with the coroner, Crall said he was very adamant that in this type of strangulation, the individual would have passed out in 10-12 seconds. “While the coroner could not tell how long the hold had been in place, it had to be much longer,” Crall said.
The state said there was no question that Brown was there when this death happened. Crall said the state has an eyewitness, and the evidence is solid. Crall said he does not believe this was a case of self-defense because the law does not permit you to plead self-defense when you create the situation in the first place.
“Mr. Brown was at Mr. Cassaro’s girlfriend’s house where the contact originally started after a text from Cassaro’s girlfriend that read: “I need to see you tonight.”
The law says the defendant must have a bonafide belief that his life was in danger. The state believes the defense will not be able to do that. The coroner is very clear on what caused this death; strangulation. They don’t see a lot of strangulation deaths like this. It is a difficult and horrible way to die,” Crall said.
Judge Leuthold noted that the defendant (according to a new law regarding self-defense as a constitutional right) could not be the first aggressor; however, that can change if the aggression increases, causing the defendant to respond with more aggression in self-defense.
Attorney James Mayer told the court that he saw this as a “textbook case” for self-defense.
“My client is 49 years old and employed in this community. He has an excellent character and reputation with no criminal background. He is absolutely no risk to this community,” Mayer said. Mayer pointed out that his client was arrested at his home and incarcerated over a weekend. He then posted a $50,000 cash bond. Mayer said since the arrest, his client has abided by all conditions and has shown up for every proceeding. By those behaviors, Mayer asserted his client now has a history of compliance.
“Even though he had an opportunity to flee, he has not. He, for all purposes, runs an independent accounting firm and he’s smack dab in the middle of tax season. He’s working seven days a week,” Mayer said.
Defense counsel offered a different perspective on the night Sean Cassaro died.
Mayer said he expects the evidence to show that Brown threw no punches and there were no visible sustainable injuries to Cassaro.
“My client was attacked by Mr. Cassaro. He was punched and thrown to the ground. Then he was stabbed. My client had injuries all about the side of his face and stab wounds. My client responded to this great force, this deadly force, and only did so in an effort to repel the deadly attack by Cassaro,” Mayer said.
Mayer noted that his client didn’t see a knife because it was pitch black outside. “He knew something happened to his leg that was super painful, and that caused him to respond in a way to stop that from happening. That’s what we know,” Mayer said.
Mayer also told the court that he appeared to know a knife in some disrepair was at the scene.
The knife was not found on Brown.
Crall further clarified the scene. He told Judge Leuthold that the eye witness (Leonhardt) was in the same car as Brown. Cassaro allegedly knocked on the window on one occasion. The eyewitness said mutual combat ensued.
Mayer pointed out that Leonhardt waited at least 15 minutes to call 911.
Mayer said his efforts to reach her have not been successful, but he looks forward to hearing what she says.
Judge Leuthold listened intently to both sides and made some of his observations.
Leuthold explained there are two ways to look at this for bond purposes.
“Two men had an argument that happened over a female. The decedent, her boyfriend, thought his girlfriend was doing something she should not be doing. It appears that’s what led to the fight. Mr. Cassaro came up, saw Mr. Brown and thought he was trying to do something inappropriate with his girlfriend. And a fight broke out,” Leuthold said.
Leuthold clarified that a personal recognizance bond was inappropriate, and the incident seems isolated.
Leuthold said he does not find Brown a risk to the community.
The final factor to consider was the seriousness of the crime.
“Two grown men, roughly the same age, and about the same size engaged in a fight over a woman. Normally, I’d set bond between half a million and a million dollars,” Leuthold said.
Leuthold concluded: “This is a case where it’s not my job to take sides. Everybody is going to look at it from their own viewpoint, and a jury is going to have to decide.”
Leuthold raised Brown’s bond to $75,000 and ordered him taken into custody.
The conditions of his bond will include no consumption of alcohol, no violations of the law, and no use of drugs not prescribed to him.
He must stay in contact with his lawyer and appear at all court appointments. , Furthermore, there is to be no entrance into any bars or anywhere that has a bar, including a restaurant. “that includes restaurants with a bar attached like Bakers.” Leuthold noted that alcohol seemed to be a big factor in this case, even though toxicology reports from the coroner are not complete.
To give the state and the defense ample time to review discovery, Leuthold will set the first pre-trial soon.
Crawford County Now will continue to cover this developing news story.