LAKEWOOD, Ohio (AP) – An Ohio man hatched a plot to kill a woman he was
in a home-ownership dispute with, authorities say, by approaching an emergency
room patient at the renowned hospital where he worked as a nurse with the
question, "Ever killed anyone?"
No, the Cleveland Clinic patient replied, but I once shot a man.
That was good enough, authorities say, for nurse Andrew Martin, 23, who
allegedly tried to resolve the dispute by offering the patient $10,000 to kill
the woman, who was never hurt.
Martin, of the town of Bristolville about 50
miles east of Cleveland,
has pleaded not guilty. His trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 7 in U.S. District
Court in Cleveland.
His attorney, Edward LaRue, said "there's much more to come" in the
case.
According to a federal affidavit that reads like a combination of
real-estate law and backroom conspiracy, Martin somehow hooked up with a man
named David Simons, who had done occasional carpentry work for an elderly man,
George Warehime. How Martin and Simons met wasn't detailed.
Warehime died Dec. 4, 2010, at age 83 after years of decline. Doctors said
he showed evidence of Alzheimer's disease. The administrator of his estate,
sister Joy Comey, put his house up for sale and lined up a buyer.
She was stunned to visit the home Nov. 21, 2011, and find Martin and another
man, David Simons. They claimed her brother had deeded the house to them nine
months earlier without cost.
Getting the house could enrich the men. It is valued at $193,000 for tax
purposes.
Comey, whose exact age is unclear, said her brother never mentioned giving
up his home, on a tree-lined boulevard in a desirable neighborhood in Lakewood, minutes from Cleveland. Comey lived near him in the area
blocks from Lake Erie and visited him
frequently to care for him.
Comey called police, and a yearlong ownership fight began in probate court.
A judge eventually sided with Comey and voided a backdated deed notarized under
questionable circumstances.
Comey argued that the two men took advantage of her brother, who was found
in 2009 to have memory loss and dementia. He couldn't hear well.
Simons claimed the deed to the house showed up in his mail box without
explanation. His attorney quit in the middle of the probate case, fearful that
his client was involved in fraud, court records said.
Martin is accused of using a cellphone to discuss the plot, and because the
cellular network crosses states lines, he is being charged in federal court, instead
of state court, with the murder-for-hire scheme.
Irritated that "this 70-year-old lady, she has been trying to mess up
my life," Martin approached an ER patient who "looked like a big
guy," according to the federal affidavit.
"Ever hurt anyone?" Martin allegedly asked the man, whose name
wasn't disclosed.
"Yes, no, maybe," the ER patient responded cautiously.
Martin pressed ahead, according to the affidavit, asking, "Ever killed
anyone?"
"I shot someone in the leg once," the patient responded.
Satisfied the man lived in a tough Cleveland
neighborhood, Martin allegedly offered him $10,000 to kill Comey. Martin
described her and her car and provided her address, prosecutors say.
When the patient tipped a police officer, Comey was alerted and went into hiding.
The threat caused her anguish, and "she was deeply disturbed, as one
would expect," said her probate attorney, Franklin Hickman.
Calls to Comey's home went unanswered, and Hickman said he had advised her
not to talk to reporters.
The Cleveland Clinic, a research hospital known for its nationally ranked
heart care, suspended Martin without pay when he was arrested in November.
Martin was locked up without bail to await trial. Calls to a phone listed in
his family name in Bristolville went unanswered.
LaRue, his attorney, said a picture of a hard-working young man would emerge
at Martin's trial.
"He's been remarkably productive," he said. "He's been
working ever since the age of 15. He's 23 now and has attained a certain degree
of business acumen in the world, as well as a nursing license."
Simons could not be reached for comment. A bankruptcy court filing from last
year showed he had debts of nearly $150,000; he wasn't charged in the alleged
murder plot.
Last May, in the middle of the probate fight, Simons took out a $600,000
insurance policy on the house, according to the federal affidavit. Ten days
later, an early morning fire later declared arson damaged the house, and the
insurer rescinded the policy.
Local prosecutors declined to comment on any investigation involving
suspected house fraud or arson.
There is little evidence of the fire at the spacious house, which remains
boarded up and padlocked by the city.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated
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This undated photo released by the Shaker Heights police department shows the booking photo of Andrew Martin. Martin, 23, of Bristolville, near Warren, Ohio (AP/Shaker Heights Police Department)
