Police: Suspect confessed to slaying

CELINA - Police documents say a Coldwater man has confessed to the stabbing death of his neighbor.

Francy Majo, 19, Coldwater, made his initial court appearance in Celina Municipal Court this morning on an unclassified felony murder charge.

The victim's mother, Sherry McCord, reportedly called Mercer County 9-1-1 at about 8:41 a.m. Wednesday. In the recording of the call, which was requested by the newspaper, McCord said she had found her daughter, Sandra Renner, 47, lying face up on Renner's living room floor at 914 N. Elm St. McCord said in the call that she had found Renner cold to the touch and naked with "blood all over her." McCord said the last time she'd spoken with her daughter had been on Dec. 29. Renner reportedly had several lacerations and obvious signs indicated a physical struggle. Coldwater EMS responded and confirmed Renner had died.

Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation employees arrived and began searching the apartment for evidence, according to court documents. During an initial examination, they reportedly found that Renner had multiple stab wounds to her chest.

In a court document, Coldwater Police Detective David Dues said he'd contacted three occupants of a neighboring apartment at 912 N. Elm St. on Wednesday. The fourth resident, Majo, arrived home from work in the early morning hours of Thursday.

Majo was interviewed with the assistance of an interpreter fluent in Marshallese and initially denied any involvement in Renner's death, according to court documents. When presented with pictures of evidence collected from the apartment complex's dumpster, Majo reportedly eventually admitted the items collected from the dumpster were his and that he had discarded them in the dumpster.

According to court documents, Majo then said that a few days prior - he believed it was Sunday - he had walked to Sandra Renner's apartment, had stabbed her to death and then left the scene.

Coldwater Police Chief Jason Miller told the newspaper on Thursday night that DNA samples had been collected from Renner's body, which would help investigators determine if others had been involved.

Majo is being held in the Mercer County jail on a $1 million cash bond. His case has been bound over to a Mercer County Common Pleas Court grand jury.