Rape Victim Died In A Fire Hours Before She Was To Testify, Then The Accused Rapist Showed Up In Court With Burns
Hours after a child rape victim died in a house fire, the rape suspect appeared in court with burns on his body, WOIO is reporting.
As previously reported by the Inquisitr, a house fire in Youngstown, Ohio, killed a young girl and her two deaf grandparents hours before the girl was scheduled to testify against her alleged rapist, Robert Seman Jr.
#UPDATE: Trial for accused rapist postponed after alleged victim and key witness killed in a fire in Youngstown: http://t.co/grpLgGWbFe
— KDKA (@CBSPittsburgh) March 31, 2015
The rape suspect was free on bond at the time while wearing an electronic monitoring device. His bond was revoked shortly after the fire on an unrelated allegation.
Officials on Monday declined to link the fatal fire, which killed 10-year-old Corinne Gump, to the rape allegations, citing lack of evidence. However, the investigation is ongoing.
At Monday’s court hearing — when the judge made the decision to postpone the trial because of the fire — the rape suspect showed up with burns on his body, according to an anonymous source close to the investigation. The rape suspect had attempted to cover up his burns with makeup, according to WKBN.
His makeup-covered burns were later revealed when he went to a hospital for treatment. It’s not clear, as of this post, if Seman went to the hospital for treatment of his burns or for an unrelated problem.
Meanwhile, police and fire investigators were on the scene at the rape suspect’s home on Thursday. A mobile crime lab with the logo of Ohio’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) was joined at the rape suspect’s home by about a dozen police squad cars. The rape suspect’s girlfriend, Lynn Schmidt — who is the victim’s mother — was at the home at the time and was taken into custody for questioning.
Robert Seman Jr. was arrested by police in the Ohio town of Goshen on March 15, 2014, after Corinne’s mother had contacted police, saying the suspect had been having sexual contact with her daughter for several years. He was later indicted by a grand jury and charged with four counts of rape.
Prosecutors hope to proceed with the rape case against Seman by convincing a judge to allow the testimony of social workers and a nurse who were involved in Corinne’s care.
As of this post, the rape suspect has not been formally charged in connection with the fatal house fire that killed his alleged victim.
