Triple-slaying defendant jumps from balcony, dies

YOUNGSTOWN — A man charged with setting a fire that killed a girl he was accused of raping and her grandparents jumped to his death from a fourth-floor courthouse balcony on Monday, the day before jury selection in his death penalty trial.

Robert Seman Jr., 48, was being led by deputies from a courtroom after a status conference to a holding cell at the Mahoning County Courthouse in Youngstown when he killed himself, Sheriff Jerry Greene told the Youngstown Vindicator newspaper.

“According to a couple of the attorneys and basically everybody there, it seemed like he was in pretty good spirits,” Greene said. “He was talking about the future of his trial, and he just decided to jump.”

Seman could have faced the death penalty if convicted in the deaths of Corrine Gump, 10; William Schmidt, 63; and Judith Schmidt, 61. The March 2015 fire at the family’s home occurred the day Seman’s trial in Corrine’s rape was scheduled to begin in Youngstown. Investigators concluded that the fire was fueled by gasoline. Burns were found on Seman’s body after his arrest, prosecutors said.

Seman’s aggravated murder trial was scheduled to begin today 35 miles away from Youngstown in Portage County. Seman’s attorneys successfully argued that he could not get a fair trial in Youngstown because of pretrial publicity. A Mahoning County judge declared a mistrial in September because a potential juror had prematurely concluded that Seman was guilty and discussed details about the case with fellow jurors.