Suspect in Canfield triple murder held without bond

CANFIELD, Ohio - The man accused of murdering three members of a Canfield Township family, including a 4-year-old girl, nearly 40 years ago faced a judge on Tuesday.

James Ferrara, 64, pleaded not guilty to 5 charges, including 3 counts of aggravated murder in the 1974 killings of a Canfield Township family.

Ben Marsh, a security officer at General Motors was found shot to death inside his South Turner Road home.

His wife Marilyn was beaten and shot, and their 4-year-old daughter, Heather was found beaten to death after authorities suspect the killer ran out of bullets.

The case has been cold for decades, until two Mahoning County Sheriff's Detectives asked that fingerprint evidence preserved from all those years ago be submitted to a database that now exists.

They got a hit.

Mahoning County Sheriff's Detectives say they were able to match three prints to Ferrara; an Ohio prison inmate already serving life in prison in two drug-related murders in Columbus.

The Judge ordered Ferrara be held at the Mahoning County Jail with no bond as he awaits trial in the triple murder.

Judge R. Scott Krichbaum will preside over the trial, and Boardman Defense Attorney Anthony Meranto has been appointed to handle Ferrara's case.

While prosecutors say they expect this 39-year-old case to be science-based, the suspected motive is still not certain.