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Background: A portion of North Henry Street in Crestline, Ohio (Google Maps). Inset: Maxwell Anatra (St. Clair County Sheriff”s Office).
A man, 24, stands accused of murdering his parents in their Ohio residence, subsequently fleeing to Michigan before making his way into Canada.
According to St. Clair County, Michigan jail records, Maxwell Anatra faces murder charges. He allegedly took the lives of his parents, 61-year-old Lisa Anatra and 63-year-old Matthew Anatra, at their home in Crestline, a small village situated between Cleveland and Columbus.
Concerns were raised on Wednesday when a colleague of Lisa Anatra contacted authorities for a welfare check. The colleague reported that Lisa had missed work and there were suspicions of having “seen blood at her residence.”
Law enforcement from the Crestline Police Department, along with the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office, responded to the call by visiting the property on the 700 block of North Henry Street in Crestline. Inside, they discovered Lisa Anatra deceased. The body of Matthew Anatra was found in the detached garage.
Details regarding the cause of death have not yet been made public by investigators.
Family members of the couple told authorities that their son, Maxwell Anatra, had been at the home the night before, but they hadn’t been able to speak with him. According to deputies, investigators learned that he had been in Michigan earlier on Wednesday “and might be trying to leave the country.”
The Crawford County Sheriff’s Office secured a warrant for his arrest for murder and coordinated with the Department of Homeland Security to make sure he was apprehended. At about 5:30 p.m., deputies learned that he had indeed been detained by Canadian officials after crossing the border.
As of Friday, the suspect was still listed as being held in St. Clair County, Michigan. He is expected to be transported roughly 230 miles back south to northern Ohio.