Meadville man extradited from Ohio to face homicide, other charges

Keith Gushard, The Meadville Tribune, Pa.
·3 min read

Dec. 1—A Meadville man has been brought back from Ohio to face charges for the alleged murder of another Meadville man whose body was found by a passerby Nov. 3 along a rural road in western Pennsylvania.

Johnny F. Henry Jr., 31, was booked into the Mercer County Jail at 5:10 p.m. Wednesday without bond after appearing before Mercer County Court of Common Pleas Judge Tedd Nesbit.

Henry was picked up at 1:30 p.m. by deputies of Mercer County Sheriff's Office from the Franklin County (Ohio) Corrections Center II jail in Columbus, Ohio, where he had been held for more than two weeks awaiting extradition.

Henry's Nov. 15 arrest in the Columbus, Ohio, area on a warrant from Mercer County came one day after Pennsylvania State Police filed homicide and other charges against Henry for allegedly killing Joseph DeTello, 40, of Meadville.

On Nov. 23, Henry waived an extradition hearing in Franklin County (Ohio) Court of Common Pleas, according to that county's online court records system. Waiving extradition cleared the way for Pennsylvania authorities to go to Ohio to pick up Henry on Wednesday.

State police allege DeTello was strangled by Henry at a Jackson Township property in Mercer County back on Nov. 3.

According to state police, Henry then used DeTello's tan Volvo sport utility vehicle to drive DeTello's body to Lawrence County, where Henry left both the body and SUV along Young Road in Slippery Rock Township.

DeTello's remains were found about 4:30 p.m. Nov. 3 by a passing motorist who had stopped after spotting DeTello lying on the ground outside the SUV, police said. The passerby and two passing bicyclists rendered CPR to DeTello, who was not breathing, until emergency units arrived, according to police reports.

An autopsy Nov. 4 found DeTello's death was a homicide due to asphyxiation. The autopsy also found DeTello had suffered numerous cuts and abrasions on his head and body, plus had a 12-inch piece of fabric lodged in his throat as well as small rocks.

Pennsylvania State Police received a tip Nov. 10 that the homicide might have occurred at a residence near Lake Latonka in Mercer County, Mercer County District Attorney Peter Acker said.

The alleged motive in the case hasn't been made known, though court documents indicate Henry and DeTello knew each other.

Henry has been brought back to Pennsylvania to face charges of homicide, aggravated and simple assault, strangulation, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and abuse of a corpse in connection with DeTello's death.

Though the criminal complaint and arrest affidavit were filed against Henry Nov. 14, they were sealed for 72 hours through Mercer County Court of Common Pleas at the request of Pennsylvania State Police.

In the affidavit of probable cause to arrest Henry, police said the immediate release of the filing of charges and the warrant "would greatly jeopardize the ability of law enforcement to take Henry into custody" as well as place potential witnesses in the case in immediate danger.

A preliminary hearing date for Henry on the criminal homicide and other charges has not been scheduled. The preliminary hearing will be scheduled before Magisterial District Judge Douglas Straub of Grove City.

Keith Gushard can be reached at (814) 724-6370 or by email at kgushard@meadvilletribune.com.