Experts testify in N. Ridgeville murder trial

Police officers and forensic experts testified June 6 in the jury murder trial of Ronald Svec in Lorain County Common Pleas Court.

Svec, 77, of Parma, is facing two counts of murder and two counts of felonious assault in the Nov. 6, 2015, shooting death of his 69-year-old wife, Gloria Svec, at a Jaycox Road home in North Ridgeville.

Svec is claiming self-defense because his wife had a knife in her hand when police arrived on scene.

Heather Bizub, a DNA specialist with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, testified there was DNA found on the blade of the knife.

Bizub told jurors there was not enough DNA present to test against DNA standards from Svec, his wife or their grandson.

A sizeable blood stain on the handle of the gun tested positive for Gloria Svec’s DNA, while the rest of the handle tested positive for both Gloria and Ronald Svec’s DNA, she said.

Also, swabs taken of Gloria Svec’s left hand produced the DNA of an as of yet unidentified male, Bizub said.

Bureau of Criminal Investigation Firearms Expert Robert E. Brown testified that the pair of fired cartridge casings were consistent with those from Svec’s Norenco 1911 A1 semiautomatic pistol which has been identified as the firearm used in the killing.

Brown said the three safety mechanisms on the pistol were operational at the time of the shooting, but they were relatively easy to disengage.

Under cross-examination from defense attorney Jenifer Berki, Brown clarified the gun is single-action, meaning it could only be fired if the hammer is pulled back before the trigger is pulled, whether manually or by pulling back the slide.

Due to it being a semiautomatic weapon, Brown said the after the gun was shot once, the trigger only would need to be pulled for it to fire.

A swab of the gun produced DNA that only matched Ronald Svec, Bizub previously said.

Prosecutors and Berki agree Svec shot his wife after the two argued following a visit from a case worker about the condition of the their 4-year-old special needs grandson which they were raising.

Berki claimed Svec was in fear for his life because his wife had been poking a steak knife at him throughout the argument and followed him from their kitchen, to the living room and finally breaking into his bedroom where he grabbed the firearm and shot her.

Lorain County Assistant Prosecutor Donna Freeman, in her opening statement, said Gloria Svec had grabbed the knife while fleeing to the kitchen after she was shot in the neck in order to protect herself and their grandson before she was shot once more in the head.

The trial is set to resume at 9 a.m., June 7, before Common Pleas Judge James L. Miraldi.

Testimony is expected to conclude this week.