ENON MURDER SUSPECT FACING CHILD PORN CHARGES
Zyrian Atha-arnett pleads not guilty, remains in jail, where he has been since his 2019 arrest.
YELLOW SPRINGS — The Enon man accused of killing a 26-yearold man in Glen Helen in 2019 has had additional child pornography charges filed against him, according to court records.
Zyrian Atha-arnett, 28, was charged with 25 counts of pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor, each a fourth-degree felony. A hearing is scheduled for April 30.
Greene County prosecutor David Hayes said the two cases were not related. According to the indictment, the alleged events occurred on or about Sept. 20, 2019, the day an apartment Atha-arnett was living at was searched before he was arrested.
According to a report in this newspaper at the time, neighbors reported seeing a computer carried out, along with other items. The Ohio Bureau of
Criminal Investigation assisted Greene County investigators, including the Greene County Sheriff ’s Office, in the search of that apartment.
He has pleaded not guilty and remains in the Greene County jail, where he has been since his arrest in November 2019. Bond in the murder case is set at $900,000.
Atha-arnett is also accused of killing 26-year-old Leonid
“Lonya” Clark in January 2019. Mushroom hunters in Glen Helen discovered Clark’s body near the Little Miami River in April 2019. A jury trial in the case was scheduled for February, but was canceled. No date is currently set for a trial. A hearing is set for April 27.
In that case, Atha-arnett faces two charges of murder, each an unclassified felony, and one count of felonious assault, a second-degree felony. If he is convicted of the murder charge, he would face 15 years to life in prison.
Clark’s father, Eric Clark, said his adopted son and Atha-arnett were longtime friends but had an on-again, off-again relationship, where they, “were best friends one week and wouldn’t speak to each other the next.”
According to preliminary findings from the autopsy, Clark died of multiple stab wounds to the head and neck areas. Defensive wounds were apparent on the victim’s hands and arms. The state of his body indicated the body had been submerged in water for a prolonged period.
Clark was well known in Yellow Springs, where he frequently stayed with friends.