Inmate serving life for fatally stabbing great uncle in Warren accused of strangling cellmate
A prison inmate serving life without parole for murdering his elderly great uncle in Warren is now accused of fatally strangling his cellmate.
Marcus Honsaker, 34, has been indicted by the Warren County Grand Jury on one count of voluntary manslaughter, and one count of tampering with evidence.
The Warren County Prosecutors Office says an investigation by the Ohio State Highway Patrol found that on May 11, 2022, Honsaker used a torn bedsheet to strangle 35-year-old cellmate Anthony Purk, who was serving a sentence of 10-years-to-life for a 2005 rape conviction in Champaign County, Ohio.
The prosecutor’s office did not say why Honsaker was indicted for involuntary manslaughter instead of murder, other than to say there was an incident in the cell before Purk was killed.
The evidence tampering charge stems from evidence that Honsaker attempted to get rid of the sheet used for the strangulation by flushing down a toilet.
Honsaker has been in prison since 2015 when he was sentenced in Trumbull County for the November 2014 stabbing death of his 71-year-old great uncle, Donald Giovannone.
A friend discovered Giovannone's body at his Atlantic Street NW in Warren.
Just days before his trial was set to begin Honsaker pleaded guilty to aggravated murder, burglary, tampering with evidence and two counts of aggravated robbery.
According to prison records, Honsaker would not be eligible for parole until 2903.
