Top Ad 728x90

mercredi 19 août 2026

It was Halloween morning in 2010 in the small farming town of Martin, Ohio, a rural stretch between the city lights of Toledo and Sandusky. Sixteen-year-old Devon Griffin came home late that morning after spending the night at a friend’s house. The house felt off, no noise, no movement. When he peeked into his parents’ room, he saw something no one should ever have to. For a second, he thought it might be a Halloween prank. Inside, he found his stepfather, William Liske Sr., 53, and his mother, Susan Liske, 46, unresponsive in their bed. Upstairs, his brother Derek Griffin, 23, was found in his own room. Investigators later said there were no signs of forced entry. Outside, the quiet farmhouse sat back from the road near a small pond, where tracks were later found matching the suspect’s shoes. The evidence led to William “B.J.” Liske Jr., the eldest son. He pleaded guilty in 2011 and received a life sentence without parole. Liske was later discovered unresponsive in his prison cell in 2015. The surviving son, Devon Griffin, has lived privately since that day, rarely speaking publicly about what he encountered. The Martin home remains a silent landmark, an ordinary farmhouse tied to one of Ohio’s most haunting Halloween mornings.


COLUMBUS, Ohio (CBS/WTOL/AP)
On Halloween, a 16-year-old boy returned to his family’s home in Martin, Ohio and believed he had stumbled into a prank when he found the bodies of his brother, mother and stepfather.

Devon Griffin discovered the bodies of his slain family members, Derek Griffin, 23, Susan Liske, and her husband William Liske, when he returned home after attending church.

The teenager told authorities it looked like a joke from a Halloween party, Ottawa County Sheriff Bob Bratton said.

He soon realized it wasn’t, and ran outside and called an aunt, who called 911.

William Liske’s 24-year-old son, also named William Liske, was arrested Sunday near the family’s cabin 170 miles from Martin. Liske reportedly has a history of mental illness and could suffer from schizophrenia.

“They’ve had a lot of trouble with him with the law. And he’s threatened Suzie before, but there’s been all kinds of trouble,” Griffin’s aunt Lori Morse told CBS affiliate WTOL.

The Blade newspaper in Toledo reported that in 2004, the younger Liske was charged with assault and robbery and accused of hitting his stepmother with a coffee cup and taking her car keys. A plea of not guilty by reason of insanity was filed for him. The state later dropped the charges.

The suspect is currently being held on $1 million bond; so far Liske has only been charged with his father’s murder.

Ottawa County Prosecutor Mark Mulligan believes the killings were premeditated and could be upped to three counts of aggravated murder.

He also added that a potential witness spotted some aspects of the crime, but did not witness the actual killings, says WTOL.

The Liskes and Derek Griffin suffered severe trauma to the head, but it was not immediately clear whether a gunshot or a blunt object killed them, Ottawa County Sheriff Bob Bratton said.

William Liske Jr. is scheduled to appear in court again on Nov. 10.

 

0 Comment:

Enregistrer un commentaire

×

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Get exclusive tips and updates directly in your inbox.