Saturday, February 06, 1999
Murder suspect's aunt says he admitted killing uncle
Stabbing death allegedly followed pair's argument
BY STEVE KEMME
The Cincinnati Enquirer
HAMILTON — James D. Sudberry's aunt testified Friday that he told her he killed her brother.
Mr. Sudberry and his uncle, James L. Sudberry, had argued on Jan. 25 and Jan. 26, Janine Peterson said in Hamilton Municipal Court.
Late on Jan. 26, Ms. Peterson said, she asked her nephew where his uncle was.
“He said, "I killed him,'” she said. “I kind of believed it, but I didn't want to believe it.”
James D. Sudberry, 25, is accused of stabbing his uncle to death with a pair of scissors.
Judge John Rosmarin ruled Friday there was probable cause to send the case to a Butler County grand jury. Mr. Sudberry is charged with murder.
The judge ordered that Mr. Sudberry continue to be held at the Butler County Jail without bond.
Police discovered the body of James L. Sudberry, 37, in a Maple Avenue garage that night. Police arrested his nephew in Dayton, Ohio, by early Monday and turned him over to Hamilton police.
Hamilton Police Detective James Cifuentes testified that the victim had a fractured skull and numerous stab wounds on his body. The most serious wound, he said, appeared to be in the right thigh, where an artery had been cut.
“There was a lot of blood” where the body was found, he said.
A trail of blood ran 60 feet in an alley between Ludlow Street and Maple Avenue, he said. A neighbor had reported to police on Jan. 26 that she saw a body being dragged down the alley.
James D. Sudberry, a danc er by profession, had been living with his paternal grandparents in Eaton, Ohio, but he moved in with his maternal grandmother in Hamilton several months ago, Ms. Peterson said.
The grandmother moved out a month ago, and soon after, James L. Sudberry moved into the house after living in Colorado.
Ms. Peterson said the elder Mr. Sudberry berated his nephew about not having a job and living in his grandmother's house.
“Boo (James L. Sudberry) said he should be a man and find him a place to stay,” she said.
The older man directed homosexual epithets at his nephew, she said.
Detective Cifuentes said there were no eyewitnesses to the slaying.
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