A 46-year-old man, George Hill, was found guilty of murder, felonious assault and domestic violence following a trial in a Mahoning County Common Pleas Court on Mon., May 2. Hill was charged in the May, 2020 death of Jennifer Mullen, 35, at her Shields Rd. apartment.
      Hill told police the night Mullen died that he and Mullen went to a Youngstown bar where Mullen became drunk after consuming Long Island Iced Tea drinks. Hill told police that Mullen hit her head in the bathroom of her apartment, after having six or seven drinks, and he could not wake her.
      Assistant county prosecutor Jennifer McLaughlin said that blood and urine tests performed on Mullen detected no alcohol and that Hill had lied about the kind of drinks he claimed Mullen drank.
      The case was tried before Judge Anthony D’Apolito. Lead investigator on the case was Det. Greg Stepuk, of the Boardman Police Department. Hill, who will be sentenced later, faces 15 years to life on the murder charge, and additional jail time on the domestic violence and assault charges.
      Hill was arrested by Boardman police in Feb., 2021, after he was indicted by a Mahoning County Grand Jury in Dec., 2020 on charges murder, felonious assault and domestic violence in connection with Ms. Mullen’s death.
      On May 31, 2020, near 6:40 a.m., Boardman police were called to Mullen’s residence at 49 Shields Rd. when Hill reported she had overdosed.
      Hill told Ptl. Jamison Diglaw he resided with Mullen, who had been his girlfriend for a year.
      “He stated he called for medical attention when brown foam was found coming out of Mullen’s mouth and he could not wake her up,” Officer Diglaw said.
      Hill told police he and Mullen had been drinking at the Steel City Bar in Youngstown and she became intoxicated after consuming six to seven Long Island ice teas; and also claimed she had an argument with a bartender, then they drove back to her residence about 2:00 a.m.
      Once at the residence, Hill claimed that he and Mullen began to argue, after which, according to police, Hill said Mullen went to bed when he noticed she was bleeding from a head wound so he placed a towel on her head to stop the bleeding.
      Hill told Ptl. Diglaw he then went to sleep “for an hour or two” and when he awakened, he saw a brownish foam coming from her mouth and he could not wake her up, “but she was breathing.”
      “He believed it may have been an hour or two before he called EMS, due to him having to charge her phone, as his phone does not make calls,” Officer Diglaw said.
      Mullen was transported by ambulance to a local hospital where she died.
      Det. Greg Stepuk, of the Boardman Police department, said an autopsy was conducted in Cuyahoga County “showed little or no alcohol,” adding a urine sample confirmed no alcohol or drugs were in her system.
      Det Stepuk said he spoke with a bartender at Steel City who said vodka and Sprite was Mullen’s drink of choice.
      According to Det. Stepuk, Mullen suffered a fractured skull and had injuries and bruises all over her body.
      “Due to the amount of injuries, we believe she was severely beaten,” Det. Stepuk said.
      Hill came to the attention of Boardman police in late Aug., 2019 after allegations were made that a 65-year-old man who lived on Argyle Ave. had been bilked-out of some $30,000 by caregivers over a four-month period.
      Reportedly Hill had lived at the home for several months, until he was asked to leave the home.
      At the time of his arrest on the murder charge, Hill was on the most wanted list of the U.S. Marshal’s Office.
      Mullen was a graduate of Cardinal Mooney High School.