Bert BombPhoto: Summit County Prosecutor's Office
Cleveland, OH - Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh announced Thursday August 12, 2021, that the Ohio Parole Board, by a six-to-four vote, denied parole for 61-year-old Bert Bombe.
In 1979, Bombe, then 19-years-old, broke into his neighbor Elise Etling’s Barberton home and stabbed the 77-year-old to death. Etling had been stabbed 17 times and her throat was cut. She was dragged 15 feet to her bedroom, leaving behind a trail of blood. Bombe is currently serving a life sentence for the brutal crime.
In May of this year, a Ohio Parole Board committee recommended Bombe be released from prison. The Summit County Prosecutor’s Office objected to his release and petitioned for a full board hearing based on the nature of the crime.
At Wednesday’s full board hearing, Assistant Prosecutor Tania Nemer, who is the Office’s Community Outreach Prosecutor, urged Parole Board members to keep Bombe in prison. “This was an extremely violent and planned attack. To make matters worse, after he murdered Mrs. Etling, Bombe went home, changed his clothes and then went to play a card game as though nothing happened,” Nemer told the Parole Board members.
Prosecutor Walsh added, “This crime still horrifies longtime Barberton residents. Bombe lied to police during the initial investigation and has continuously broken the rules while in prison. He continues to be a danger to society and needs to remain locked up to keep the community safe.”
Also at Wednesday’s hearing, Elise Ettling’s family member told Parole Board members what a great woman she was and how she was loved by the entire family.
Bombe was first denied parole in 1994 and has been denied parole each time he has been eligible. According to the Parole Board, Bombe is next eligible for parole in 2024.
(Copyright, iHeartMedia, 2021)
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