Austintown man accused of not reporting ex-girlfriend's death, dragging body in stairwell
An Austintown man is behind bars after police say he dragged his ex-girlfriend's body into a stairwell instead of reporting her death to the police.
According to a police report, police were called to an apartment on the 800 Block of North Meridian Road back in July of 2024 in reference to a body found in the stairwell.
The body was identified as that of 69-year-old Suzanne Wilmer. Police say Wilmer was laying facedown with her feet in the stairway entrance propping the door open.
The caller who reported the body told police he saw a man identified as 44-year-old Jamey Neeld dragging Wilmer into the stairwell by her feet. The caller went on to tell police Neeld and Wilmer dated on and off.
The next day, police were called back to the apartment for a shoe that was found in the stairwell believed to have belonged to Wilmer.
Police say the woman who found the shoe went out to walk her dog around 1:30 that morning and that the shoe was not there when she left, but was when she came back less than 30 minutes later.
According to the report, it is believe the shoe was placed there after officers left the first call about the body.
The police report did not specify the cause of Wilmer's death.
According to court records, a warrant was issued for Neeld's arrest in October. He was arrested and booked into the Mahoning County Jail on Wednesday.
Neeld is charged with failure to report a death and unlawfully disturbing a body. Court records do not show an arraignment date for him at this time.