Mammone III Pleads Not Guilty to Killing his Children, Ex-Mother-In-Law

CANTON — James Mammone III appeared before a judge Friday at the Stark County Jail and denied guilt to three counts of aggravated murder with death-penalty specifications and other crimes.

The hearing was Mammone’s first chance to enter a plea to charges that he killed his two children and his ex-mother-in-law on June 8, and tried to break into his ex-wife’s home.

“The charges don’t get any more serious than they are in this case,” Common Pleas Judge John G. Haas told Mammone before reading the seven-count indictment aloud.

If convicted of any of the aggravated murder charges with an accompanying death-penalty specification, Mammone could be sentenced to death. Other options would be life in prison without parole, life in prison with parole eligibility after 30 years and life in prison with parole eligibility after 25 years.

Police have said he confessed to the slayings, saying he was trying to punish his ex-wife, Marcia Mammone, following their recent divorce.

Stark County Public Defender Tammi Johnson and defense attorney Derek Lowry have been appointed to represent James Mammone III.

They declined to comment on the case, as did Assistant Stark County Prosecutor Chryssa Hartnett.

Haas set a tentative January trial date.

The judge held off on imposing a gag order, but said he is sensitive to how publicity about the case might effect potential jurors.

“The less said, the better,” he told the attorneys.

Haas also asked Mammone how he was being treated in jail and if he had any concerns.

Mammone said his only problem is getting food that fits his strict vegetarian diet.

Neither Mammone’s relatives, nor the family of his ex-wife, attended the hearing.

George Urban, spokesman for Marcia Mammone and her father, James Eakin, said they are still coping with the loss and didn’t want to make the hearing a public spectacle.

Prosecutors have said they believe James Mammone III stabbed to death his children, 5-year-old Macy Mammone and 3-year-old James Mammone IV, sometime before fatally shooting his former mother-in-law, 57-year-old Margaret J. Eakin.

Reached at her home, the defendant’s mother, Gilise Mammone, said she wanted to be at the hearing, but had been told it wasn’t open to the public, although it was.

“He’s still my son, and I love him,” she said.

In her first public comments since her son’s arrest, an emotional Gilise Mammone said her heart is broken.

“I’m just absolutely crushed. I lost my grandkids, my only grandkids, and my son, my only child,” she said.

With a trial pending, she wouldn’t discuss details about her son, his marriage and divorce, or the allegations against him, but said the side of him accused of these crimes, “I never saw, I never knew.”

“He always did so well with the kids,” she said. “I just don’t understand. I just don’t understand.”

[previous articles on Mammone]

Ex-Wife, Mother at Confessed Triple Murderer's First Court Appearance

CANTON, Ohio - The man who has confessed to killing his two young children and his ex-mother-in-law out of spite for his ex-wife appeared in court for the first time since the alleged murders, Fox 8's Kristy Steeves reports.

James Mammone III could be seen behind a glass partition inside a room connected to the courtroom, where his ex-wife and his mother sat two seats from each other.

The judge set June 16 as the date for a preliminary hearing. It is scheduled for 1:15 p.m.

The defendant's mother, visably shaken, sat among the first row of onlookers. For the duration of the proceedings, she held two photographs of her now-deceased grandchildren.

The defendant's ex-wife, Marcia Mammone, sat nearby. At one point, a bailiff noticed that she was crying and got her a box of Kleenex.

Both the ex-wife and the mother were escprted out a back door of the courthouse, away from cameras.

On Tuesday, James Mammone III told authorities in Canton that he killed his children and ex-mother-in-law with the intention of inflicting pain on his ex-wife.

Police tell Fox 8's Kathleen Cochrane that Mammone first killed his ex-mother-in-law at her home and then tried to break into his ex-wife's home. She called 911 early Monday morning.

From inside the house, Marcia Mammone told the 911 dispatcher that she could see her two children -- 5-year-old Macy and 3-year-old James -- in the suspect's car parked in the driveway. The two children were later found murdered, with throats slit, in the custody of their father.

James III and Marcia divorced in April and records show that he had threatened to kill her in the past. He even spent a night in jail on domestic violence charges while he and Marcia were still married.

On Monday, he seemed determined to get into Marcia's home as she begged for the authorities to respond.

James III remains locked up in prison on $15 million bond.

A spokesperson for the family says that they are grieving deeply and asking for privacy during this extremely difficult time.

Stick with Fox 8 News and FOX8.com for more information on this tragic story as it becomes available.

*CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO MARCIA MAMMONE'S COMPLETE 911 CALL

Father Charged with Murdering 2 Children & Mother-in-Law in Canton

CANTON, OH -A murderous rampage in Canton that would leave two children and their grandmother dead, began early Monday morning, when 35-year-old James Mammone III tried to break into the home of his ex-wife.

The couple's divorce was finalized in April. Court records indicate James Mammone was convicted in 2008 of domestic violence after threatening to kill his wife. But on Monday morning, he did not find her. A neighbor, who did not want to be identified says "I saw all the glass and the door was propped open, and he attempted to get into the second door."

Investigators say James Mammone left the home of his ex-wife and traveled a short distance to his ex mother-in-law's house. It was at the home of 57-year-old Margaret Eakin where Mammone would pick up and drop off his five-year-old daughter and three-year-old son, as part of his visitation rights.

Canton Police say James Mammone broke into the home Monday morning and shot and killed Margaret Eakin. Ed Roth, a neighbor, says "I called 911 because I knew, I know gunshots, I know someone's screaming."

Roth says he saw James Mammone's car pull out of the driveway, so he decided check on Margaret Eakin. But once inside her home, Roth's wife alerted him that Mammone has returned, so Roth quickly ran back to his home.

Mammone was gone by the time Canton police arrived to investigate the shooting death of Margaret Eakin. They learned that her grandchildren, five-year-old Macy Mammone and three-year-old James Mammone, Junior were missing and were likely with their father.

When police caught up with James Mammone in his car outside his apartment, they were horrified. Canton Police Chief Dean McKimm says "the two children were found unfortunately deceased in the back seat of the vehicle, apparent victims of knife wounds." The Stark County Coroner says the throats of the two children had been slit.

Those who knew them are heart broken. A neighbor says "very, very sweet, Macy, the little girl was quiet she always had a smile on her face. Just Saturday, she had a blow-up thing out there and they were out there playing in the yard having a good time, James was all proud of his chalk and was showing me his chalk, and I'd have never thought, I would never have thought, this is just such a shock."

James Mammone now faces three counts of aggravated murder for allegedly taking the lives of his two children and his former mother-in-law. Ed Roth says "it's just so senseless, it's just so, you know people are so selfish, so you know, it's just seems like it was all about him, how many lives he's going to touch now, it's just stupid."