Kathy E <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: After being stabbed once in her kitchen, retired librarian June Stillman fled to her garage and tried to lift the main door, hoping to escape her attacker, police now say. But the door wouldn't budge, and her killer continued to hack and beat at her, following her through the garage and finally bringing her down with a deep cut to the neck, they say. As expected, a grand jury Wednesday indicted her 14-year-old neighbor, Jonathan Arce, as an adult in her slaying. Arce is charged with first-degree premeditated murder, armed assault during a burglary, car theft and petty theft. Because of his age, if found guilty, his maximum sentence would be life in prison without parole. ``He's 14, but he's a young man. He made a man's decision that day,'' said Oviedo police investigator George Ilemsky. Authorities have continued to investigate Stillman's slaying since her bloody, battered body was found curled in a fetal position on her garage floor March 10. The 68-year-old retired librarian suffered at least 15 significant stab or bludgeon wounds from the neck up, Ilemsky said. There were a similar number of wounds from the neck down, however many of those were not so serious, he said. Stillman's body, clad in a housecoat but no undergarments, was found laying on one knife. Nearby was a larger carving knife with a bent blade, Ilemsky said. The autopsy has not formally been completed, but preliminary indications are those knives caused most of her wounds, said police Lt. Dale Coleman. A vertical cut beneath Stillman's left ear was probably the fatal wound, police say. It severed her carotid artery, the one that carries blood from the aorta to the brain. She also was beaten with a blunt object. Arce's family did not return a phone call Wednesday. Arce has no previous criminal record, and police say they can find no evidence he was ever in trouble with the law, except for truancy. Three witnesses testified before the grand jury Wednesday: Ilemsky, the officer to whom Arce made a videotaped confession; Seminole County Medical Examiner Sara Irrgang; and William Benton, the handyman who discovered Arce in Stillman's Toyota Corolla, trying to back it out of the driveway. Benton also found Stillman's body. Coleman said police are not sure how or why Arce entered Stillman's house that morning. But blood splatter experts have told them she was probably stabbed first in her kitchen, then fled to her garage. Authorities found her handprints on the main garage door, suggesting she tried but failed to open it. She was attacked again there, then ran across the garage to a wall, changed direction and wound up near her washing machine, where her neck was cut and she probably bled to death, they say. In his confession, Arce said Stillman was angry and came at him with a knife. Coleman said police have found no evidence to support that. Arce is to appear today in adult court at the Seminole County Jail, where a judge will read the charges against him. -- Kathy E "I can only please one person a day, today is NOT your day, and tomorrow isn't looking too good for you either" http://members.delphi.com/kathylaw/ Law & Issues Mailing List http://pw1.netcom.com/~kathye/rodeo.html - Cowboy Histories http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/2990/law.htm Crime photo's Subscribe/Unsubscribe, email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the body of the message enter: subscribe/unsubscribe law-issues
