The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Published Thursday, May 18, 2000

HUBBARD TOWNSHIP

Bloody house, car dominate testimony
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Jurors shown video taped after slayings
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‘COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF BLOOD’ ON CAR, DETECTIVE SAYS

By Sherris Moreira-Byers
Herald Staff Writer

Scott Burrows and the jurors deciding his fate watched a videotape Wednesday of the bloodstained home of Charles and Dorothy London at 3441 Broadway Ave. S.E. in Hubbard Township.

Blood stains and Christmas decorations were evident on video made a week after Mrs. London’s body was found.

Burrows, 19, who lived next door to the Londons at 3447 Broadway, and another man are accused of stabbing Mrs. London to death; kidnapping, beating and killing her husband and dumping his body in the Mahoning River; and stealing weapons and cars from the couple’s home on Dec. 15. Mark Worley, 21, of Youngstown also faces aggravated murder and burglary charges. He will be tried separately.

The videotape, made Dec. 23, shows the bathroom where Mrs. London’s body was found. She had been stabbed 34 times. A pool of blood was visible on the floor near the sink. Carpet outside the bathroom, the front screen door and walls were also bloodstained.

Hubbard Township police detective Mike Bejeot presented a ballcap that he said was found under Mrs. London’s body when police discovered her at about 6:30 p.m. Dec. 16. He also showed jurors pictures — taken from a Wal-Mart surveillance camera — of Burrows and Worley buying a BB gun at the retailer’s Clarion, Pa., store on Dec. 10. In those photos, Burrows is wearing a similar cap. In opening arguments, Burrows’ attorney, Anthony Consoldane, said Worley killed the couple during a robbery and Burrows helped him afterward. Consoldane said Burrows’ cap fell off when he was trying to move Mrs. London’s body.

Bejeot also testified about the recovery of London’s body from the Mahoning River on Dec. 22. Bejeot said the body had been snared by a branch in the river, about 100 yards from the West Avenue Bridge in Youngstown.

“He had at least a dozen wounds to his chest — lacerations. He also had wounds to his forehead, right side of his face and right eye, consistent with gunshot wounds,” Bejeot said. Bloody drag marks were also found on the West Avenue Bridge, Bejeot said.

Bejeot also talked about evidence police gathered about a black pickup truck that Burrows’ stepfather Jerry Womer of Warren, Ohio, said Burrows stole from him on Dec. 3.

Bejeot said the pickup was found abandoned between railroad tracks near Mount Everett Road in Hubbard Township on Dec. 19

Inside the truck, he said, were BB gun packaging and a Wal-Mart bag with a receipt for a BB gun; it was dated Dec. 10 and named the Clarion Wal-Mart.

Near the truck, authorities found a recurve bow that was among items stolen from the Londons’ home and a spent Carbon Dioxide cartridge commonly used in a BB pistol, Bejeot said. The same day, Bejeot said, police found the Londons’ 1984 Pontiac Parisienne in Mill Creek Park, Youngstown.

Bejeot, who said he checked the trunk when he arrived, testified: “My main concern was ... I needed to check if Mr. London was in the vehicle. There was lots of blood in the trunk, but no Mr. London.”

Police found “copious amounts of blood” inside the trunk, on the rear bumper and on the taillights, Bejeot said. Work gloves, one of London’s credit cards and a serrated steak knife were also found near the scene, Bejeot said.

Also testifying Wednesday was Robert A. Sallmen of Pulaski Township. He said Worley and Burrows were rehearsing for a play from 7 to 7:45 p.m. Dec. 15 in Hubbard Church of the Nazarene. Authorities believe the Londons were killed after 4:30 p.m. Dec. 15.

At the beginning of the day, a female juror was excused for personal reasons and replaced with a male alternate. The jury is now made up of four men and eight women.

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