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LISBON -- A former neighbor testified that she saw Nathan Tataseo close the front door of the Tataseo home on South Elm Street, Columbiana, walk off the porch and leave -- the morning after investigators believe his father died and remained dead in his recliner.
That sighting was also two days after Nathan Tataseo claimed he had last been at the house.
That's what he initially told investigators when they spoke to him July 1, 2022 about his father's death and asked him about his whereabouts. According to Nathan, he moved out at 11 a.m. Monday, June 27, 2022 with just the clothes on his back and left his key.
He was adamant about that until confronted with the news that a neighbor saw him, then he said he went on the porch to knock on the door Thursday, June 30, 2022.
He repeatedly said that he couldn't get in the house because he didn't have a key.
Witnesses for the prosecution testified Wednesday about evidence, dates, what they knew about the victim, the defendant, financial matters and plans for eviction in the aggravated murder trial against Nathan Tataseo, 47, who's accused of killing his father, James E. Tataseo, on Tuesday, June 28, 2022.
The elder Tataseo was found dead the night of Thursday, June 30, 2022, lying in his recliner with his head smashed in, blood dried on his head and blood splattered all over.
The prosecution questioned six witnesses during the trial's second day in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court, with more testimony in the state's case expected today.
One of those witnesses was Valerie Kerchofer, who now lives in South Carolina but previously lived on South Elm Street near the Tataseo home. During questioning by county Assistant Prosecutor Alec Beech, she said she used to see Nathan in the mornings between 7:30 to 7:45 a.m. leaving the house to walk down the street, in a sort of walking routine, and noticed he appeared to be getting thinner.
The night of June 30, 2022, she learned what happened to her neighbor James E. Tataseo when multiple police cars and ambulances descended on their neighborhood and police knocked on her door. On July 1, 2022, she was interviewed by police about what she had seen in the days prior.
Kerchofer recalled seeing Nathan walking off the porch the morning of Thursday, June 30, 2022 and walking north. Her dogs had been barking and she looked out the window and saw him. She was parked at the end of her driveway in her vehicle when she saw him the morning of Wednesday, June 29, 2022, closing the front door, walking off the porch and walking. On the morning of Tuesday, June 28, 2022, the dogs were barking and he was walking down the street.
Defense attorney Paul Conn questioned when the walking started and she indicated it happened all the time in the mornings, usually in spring, summer and fall. When you saw that, it wasn't unusual, Conn asked. Beech redirected and asked if it was fair to say that the murder of her neighbor was a big event in her life. When she gave her statement, it was the day after that discovery and she still remembered everything now, which she affirmed.
Patrick Wright, an investigator with the county Prosecutor's Office and member of the Columbiana County Major Crimes Task Force, talked about the initial interview with Nathan Tataseo, which was conducted at Col-Pump where he had just started a job that day.
Wright described him as nervous and said he appeared to know why he was there. He knew his mother was in a nursing home and said his relationship with his father was "mediocre."
He said he last saw his father on June 27, 2022 and had not used his father's phone in a while. He acknowledged that his father was evicting him.
When told his father was dead, Wright testified "he said, 'What? How?' He didn't really have any emotions."
When asked where he had been, Nathan said he was staying in the woods under a tree. Investigators searched and found what they referred to as a tree house, like an elevated hunting blind, in the woods. Once police released Nathan, Wright followed him and he was heading in the direction of the woods. Wright noted that the victim's phone was not found, but at one point, Nathan appeared to be walking with his head down like he was looking at a phone when he was following him. He had told investigators he didn't have a phone.
During morning testimony, John Tataseo, the son of the victim and brother of the defendant, testified about his father, and how they had gone fishing together with his 15-year-son on the Saturday before his father's murder. He talked about helping his father with financial matters and how he was having issues with money, which he partially blamed on having to support Nathan. He also said his father told him items were missing from the garage and money had been taken from his wallet.
"He wanted Nathan out of the house," he said.
John Tataseo had called the elder abuse hotline and was referred to the sheriff's office, then referred to Adult Protective Services, which is part of the county Department of Job and Family Services. Patricia Brown, who worked for Adult Protective Services at the time, also testified about how she spoke with both John Tataseo and then James E. Tataseo about items being missing that he suspected Nathan took, and about how to get him out of the house.
Both she and John Tataseo said the first date for the eviction was June 30, 2022, then it was changed to June 24, 2022. John Tataseo said Nathan gave no reaction either time when served with the documents. Then the date changed again back to June 30, 2022. They had plans to go to court to force the issue on Friday, July 1, 2022.
Brown said she left a message for James E. Tataseo on Monday, June 27, 2022 and he left her a voicemail message saying it looked like they would be coming that Friday to file the eviction case.
John Tataseo confirmed what his other brother, Jim, had said, that their father had plans to sell the house and move to a senior living community in Pennsylvania near his grandson's school, close to where John lived and across the street from where Jim worked.
Others who testified included the victim's neighbor and good friend, Ray Crews, and Corey Bowker, the owner of Col-Pump, who spoke about seeing Nathan on June 30, 2022 and then offering him a job. Crews said he last saw his friend on June 28, 2022 visiting with his son, Jim, and then after Jim left, washing his car in the driveway in the evening. He said James had told him about his money issues and the problems with Nathan, asking him to keep some items he bought from him at his house until Nathan moved out.
He said he last spoke to his friend on Monday, June 27, 2022, telling him to "please be careful and watch your back."