John Zanolli, left, is pushed to the podium by a sheriff’s deputy at a pretrial hearing Feb. 11
The murder trial of John Zanolli, who is accused of shooting to death his sister, Janice Zanolli, in Masury, has been postponed.
The trial had been set for Feb. 17 but Trumbull County Common Pleas Court Judge Sean O’Brien, who is assigned to the case, will be unavailable.
At a pretrial hearing Feb. 11, Judge Ronald Rice gave Zanolli, who again turned down a plea offer, the option of proceeding with trial Feb. 17 before Rice, or March 16 before O’Brien.
Zanolli’s attorney said Zanolli would prefer “consistency” in terms of a judge, and Rice said he would leave it up to O’Brien.
Zanolli’s docket was updated afterward saying the trial would be reset, and setting another pretrial hearing on Feb. 25 before O’Brien.
Rice asked Zanolli about the plea deal, noting that he would be eligible for parole after 23 years under its terms. If he should be convicted at trial, he could be sentenced to life in prison without a chance for parole.
“Go to trial,” Zanolli responded.
Zanolli, 62, has been indicted on charges of aggravated murder and abuse of a corpse. Brookfield police found Janice Zanolli, 65, dead on March 1, 2025, in the Masury home they shared on Third Street. John Zanolli was arrested by police at that time. Police said they believe Janice Zanolli had been dead since Feb. 26, 2025.
Assistant District Attorney Christopher Becker said he would present eight prosecution witnesses at trial.
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