Prosecutors drop murder charge against Waynesburg,OH man By Shane Hoover CantonRep.com staff writer Posted Aug 05, 2009 @ 10:09 AM CANTON — Catherine Grossi never believed her son bought a knife and walked 17 miles from their home in Waynesburg to stab his ex-roommate to death in Perry Township. And based on what she knew of the case against her son, she thought he eventually would be a free man. Stark County prosecutors Wednesday dropped an aggravated murder charge against Joseph P. Grossi, 23, of 124 Meadowbrook Pkwy., who has spent nearly a year in jail and faced the prospect of life in prison. “We’re elated,” Catherine Grossi said. “It’s been a long, hard struggle.” CASE BEGAN LAST YEAR Perry Township police arrested Grossi last year, saying he killed 38-year-old Bruce M. Bai in the early morning hours of Aug. 20. Bai’s body was discovered three days later and Grossi confessed to the killing, but he later denied having anything to do with Bai’s death, saying he only confessed because he was tired and hadn’t taken medication that helps him sleep. Defense attorney Frank Beane also questioned what role Grossi’s bipolar disorder and schizophrenia may have played in his confession. In February, Stark County Common Pleas Judge Charles E. Brown Jr. found that Grossi’s statements weren’t coerced and said prosecutors would be allowed to use them at trial. But forensic tests on items from the murder scene and its vicinity indicated that other individuals were in Bai’s apartment, and Assistant Stark County Prosecutor Dennis Barr said he began to question the validity of Grossi’s statement. Brown put the trial on hold later that month, and Barr and defense attorney Frank Beane agreed that Grossi would take a lie detector test. The first results were inconclusive because Grossi wasn’t taking medication at that time for his mental-health issues. In the second test, Grossi’s responses indicated that he was telling the truth about not killing Bai and not being present during the murder, Barr said. CHARGE DROPPED Grossi learned the charge was being dismissed when he arrived in court Wednesday. Beane said his client took the news in stride. “Based on my experience with killers, I just had that feeling that he didn’t do it,” said Beane, a veteran of murder trials, including death-penalty cases. He criticized the police investigation as “sloppy,” and said his client confessed because “he wanted them to leave him alone.” Grossi still could face charges for hindering the investigation, Beane said. And although Brown ordered him released on the aggravated murder case, Grossi remains in custody on a warrant for failing to appear for court in New Philadelphia. Reached by phone, Bai’s father declined to comment on the latest development in the case. Meanwhile, the investigation into Bai’s death continues. Perry Township police Sgt. Frank Hamilton said police will continue to look into Bai’s death “until we can charge someone.” With the case still open, Barr wouldn’t discuss the nature of the evidence found by the crime lab or the identities of the individuals who were in Bai’s home. Back in Waynesburg, Catherine Grossi thanked her son’s attorney and all who supported her family. She was saddened by Bai’s death and still feels bad for his mother, she said. As for her son, she said she wants him to get a mental-health evaluation upon his release “to make sure that he’s stable enough to come home because we want to do what’s best for him.”

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