A bloody tactical knife helped police in Ohio link a man to the slaying of his fiancee’s mother, who was found dead just days before the couple were set to wed.
According to court documents, Jeffrey Scullin, 20, stabbed and shot Melinda Pleskovic inside her Strongsville home on the night of October 23, then joined the victim’s unsuspecting husband for dinner at an Applebee’s, where his bride worked as a waitress.
Scullin later called 911 to report finding Pleskovic, 49, lying dead in a pool of blood and even acted as a pallbearer at the woman’s funeral, three days before he was arrested for her murder.
Bloody trial: Police arrested Jeffrey Scullin Jr, 20, for the murder of his future mother-in-law, 49-year-old Melinda Pleskovic (right), after finding a tactical knife with the victim’s blood on the blade and his own DNA on the handle inside a truck he had been driving
The suspect was arraigned on Friday morning in Cleveland on charges including aggravated murder, felonious assault and tampering with evidence in the October 23 slaying of the popular school teacher and married mother-of-three. He did not enter a plea.
A judge set his bond at $1million and his lawyer asked that the case now go to a grand jury. Scullin’s next court appearance is scheduled for November 13.
A search warrant affidavit filed on Thursday – and cited by Cleveland.com – said that police were able to identify Scullin as a suspect after searching a 2002 Chevy pickup truck that he had been driving and recovering a large tactical knife with blood on the blade.
The weapon was hidden beneath various items on the backseat, according to the records.
More blood was found on the inside door handle of the passenger seat, which matched the murder victim, and Scullin’s own DNA was found on the handle of the knife leading to his arrest on Tuesday.
According to a narrative presented by police, Scullin killed his future mother-in-law, with whom had a history of disputes, then met his future father-in-law Bruce Pleskovic and his wife-to-be Anna for dinner at the at the Southpark Mall Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill and Bar restaurant.
Scullin, who had been living with Pleskovic’s family, was breathing heavily when he told a 911 dispatcher that he and the victim’s husband Bruce had found her on the kitchen floor with blood all around.
She was found with stab wounds to her back and a medical examiner said she died of ‘gunshot wounds and sharp force injuries’.
Police released no information about a possible motive when they revealed on Tuesday that he had been charged with aggravated murder.
During the 911 call, Scullin told authorities that he had taken his 18-month-old daughter and the victim’s 18-year-old son, who has Down syndrome, out of the house after discovering her body.
‘We just came home. She’s on the kitchen floor. I took her son and my daughter outside. Her husband is inside with her now,’ he told dispatchers.
‘We found her in the kitchen. She’s not moving. I took the kids and I walked outside… There’s a lot of blood.’
It’s not clear yet whether Scullin, who is an HVAC worker, has an attorney. He was being held on a $1 million bond.
Scullin was living with the victim’s family at the time of the murder. He was engaged to marry her daughter Anna, who he shared a daughter with, and was a pallbearer at her funeral
Melinda Pleskovic was found with stab wounds to her back and a medical examiner said she died of ‘gunshot wounds and sharp force injuries’
The victim’s husband also spoke to 911 dispatchers telling them that people had been trying to break into their home ‘all year’ and ‘now someone killed her’.
Police have released little information and would not say whether the suspect was linked to a series of attempted break-ins and suspicious activities at the home in the months leading up to the killing.
Pleskovic blasted Strongsville police for not investigating the strange incidents that were happening at the home.
Just days before, police investigated a report that an unknown man tried to enter the home by forcing open the back door.
Records show police investigated a report of a theft from a car in January, and they went to the house again in July to investigate a suspicious person.
Officers also were called in September when Melinda Pleskovic told officers a set of car keys were missing and that she kept finding her car unlocked and the alarm kept going off.
The victim’s husband told 911 dispatchers that people had been trying to break into their home (pictured) ‘all year’ and blasted Strongsville police for not investigating the strange incidents