Jordan Gardner, forensic scientist with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, holds the rifle John Zanolli used to kill his sister, Janice.
The second day of the John Zanolli murder trial, Tuesday, ended with the prosecution and the defense resting their cases, the defense having offered no testimony or evidence.
Closing arguments will be held Wednesday and then the jury will start deliberations, said Trumbull County Common Pleas Court Judge Sean O’Brien.
The defense asked O’Brien to acquit Zanolli based on arguments that they had outlined in their opening statement: that Zanolli’s act was spontaneous and not planned – planning is an element of the charge of aggravated murder – and that leaving his sister’s corpse in her bed for three days did not constitute abuse of a corpse, the other offense he is charged with.
O’Brien said he had heard enough evidence to let the jury decide the issues.
John Zanolli stands for the entrance of the jury at his murder trial. Defense attorney Joshua Weemhoff is at left, and Sharay Lewis at right.
Zanolli, 62, is accused of shooting to death his 65-year-old sister, Janice Zanolli, on Feb. 26, 2025, in the home they shared in Masury.
Testimony from Brookfield Police Sgt. Cody Dean and patrolman John Bizub detailed the entrance to the house after Zanolli’s brother, Jeff, and his girlfriend, Linda Dattilo, had discovered Janice in her bed with blood on her, and left to call for help.
Bizub said he entered the house with police from Sharon and Hubbard Township, but went back outside after hearing footsteps upstairs. Jeff had told them that John might have a .22 rifle in the house. After informing his superiors, Bizub, Dean, patrolman Nicholas Leonardo and other officers re-entered the home and found John in his bedroom with the rifle to his head.
The prosecution played Dean’s body camera footage. It showed police trying to convince John not to shoot himself and to give himself up. John spoke of a “pact” with his sister and said “It’s too late” several times. Dean tried several lines of reasoning to convince John to give up, telling him that suicide attempts are rarely successful and that he could hurt a policeman if the bullet ricocheted or went astray.
John was subdued after about 20 minutes when police fired Taser barbs into him, the electric shock incapacitating him briefly.
In an interview at the police station, John said he and Janice were “ticked off” by the election of U.S. President Donald Trump and that Janice had told him she did not want to live anymore. They decided that John would kill Janice and then himself, he said.
While the defense has abandoned the murder-suicide storyline, lead Prosecutor Christopher Becker argued that it showed prior calculation on John’s part.
Girard Police Sgt. Joshua Merrill, a member of the Trumbull County Homicide Task Force, and Brookfield Police Det. Jonathan Setser detailed the collection and logging of evidence. Jordan Gardner, forensic scientist with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation explained his testing of the Remington bolt-action .22-caliber rifle, and Dr. George Sterbenz, deputy Trumbull County coroner and a forensic pathologist, told about his autopsy of Janice’s body.
Sterbenz said Janice was hit by two bullets. One went into her right shoulder, out the other side and into her head. This injury would not have been instantly fatal, but would have killed her eventually, Sterbenz said. The second bullet entered under her chin and went into her head and would have been instantly fatal, he said.
In his interview, John said he fired once, found that Janice was still breathing, and then fired the second shot so she wouldn’t suffer.
Sterbenz said Janice’s shoulder would have been raised when it was hit by the first shot. Becker argued that she had tried to shield herself.
