Marie Belcastro, 94, was murdered by 15-year-old Jacob Larosa in 2015. Larosa, who already had a criminal history, invaded Marie’s home, attempted to rape her, and beat her to death with a MAG flashlight. Larosa’s beating left Marie with ruptured eyes and crushed bones in her face and in the top of her skull. The severe beating also shattered Marie’s hearing aid. 

A police officer and Marie’s daughter later discovered the gruesome results of Larosa’s crime–Marie’s body, naked from the waist down and twisted awkwardly into a fetal position. Marie died in the house her father built, the house she had lived her entire life. Reminders of the murder were literally engrained into the home–Marie’s brain matter and skull fragments were embedded into the walls and her blood went through the hardwood floors of her bedroom to the basement walls and appliances.  

Larosa has expressed no remorse and poses a significant danger. 

{¶22} The trial court reviewed, among other things, a presentence report from the Department of Adult Probation, the extensive psychological assessments and medical information provided for LaRosa, victim impact statements, LaRosa’s allocution statement, the transcript of the juvenile amenability hearing, and the Miller factors for sentencing juveniles. The presentence report ordered by the court contained an Ohio Risk Assessment System rating of “very high” with regard to LaRosa’s risk of recidivism. The report also stated that LaRosa had not only struggled with expressing true remorse, but had repeatedly bragged about his crimes to other inmates while in JJC, despite having been advised by his counsel to show remorse. 

State v. LaRosa, CASE NO. 2018-T-0097, (Ohio Ct. App. 2020)

The murder and attempted rape of Marie were not Larosa’s first crimes. He had a history of juvenile delinquency. He even had put his sister in the hospital. He also had escaped from a juvenile detention center at one point.

In fact, Larosa had been released from juvenile detention on the morning of March 31, 2015. He was given numerous chances and chose to continue down a path of evil.

After a years-long process, Larosa was sentenced to life plus 31 years without parole. The sentence was a relief and closure for Marie’s family. But that relief and closure was undone by SB 256. Now, they face a future of nightmarish parole hearings and the terrifying possibility of Larosa’s release. Not only has the Teen Killer Empowerment Act violated Marie’s family’s trust in the judicial system, it has violated their safety. The TKEA is a cruel slap in the face to victims, local judges, and prosecutors

Below is a statement from Brian’s grandson Marie. Brian’s desire for Larosa to stay in prison should not be seen as hatred or vengeance. Brian feels he can forgive. He even wrote to Larosa several years ago, telling him that God loves him and wants to heal his mind and spirit. But forgiveness does not absolve Larosa of the consequences for his crime.

Learn more about Larosa here. See memorial for Marie here.

From Marie’s Grandson

On the afternoon of March 31, 2015, a local teenager with a criminal past forced his way into my grandmother’s modest ranch house in Niles, Ohio.  Jacob Larosa had been released from an Ohio juvenile facility mere hours before, and he was looking for money, or booze, or both.  

My grandmother had a Life Alert bracelet on, but never had a chance to use it.  Using a MAG flashlight, Larosa beat my grandmother to death in a manner so violent that an open casket funeral was not an option.  Brain matter and skull fragments were embedded into the walls of her home.  Her own blood made its way from the hardwood floors of her bedroom to the basement walls and appliances.  

Beaten so badly that her hearing aid was shattered to bits, my grandmother’s killer later told a fellow inmate that he was “saving her for later.”  For this crime and others against my grandmother, Larosa was sent back to jail, and then after 42 grueling months, to prison for life, plus 31 years, with no shot at parole.

The reaction of the Niles Police Department that day was swift and professional.  Many officers stayed up for days at a time until their work was done.  Six Niles Police Department officers paid their respects at my grandmother’s wake, which is something I will never forget.  

When the process for determining if the killer should be tried as an adult was completed, the case was assigned to Judge W. Wyatt McKay.  The prosecutor’s office was incredible as well.  Everything was by the book, and justice prevailed in Trumbull County.  Life plus 31 years, no parole!  I kept repeating that in my head over and over, because it was a sentence that gave my grandmother’s death meaning.  That is, no one outside of prison would ever be harmed by Larosa again.  

Sadly, the story does not end there.  On April 12, 2021, a new Ohio law took effect.  It’s called S.B. 256, but I call it the Teen Killer Empowerment Act.  It retroactively erases the sentences arrived at by local judges, and tells them to pound sand, because apparently 132 legislators and a Governor in Columbus know better than local prosecutors and judges who spend years getting these cases right.

The immediate effect on Jacob Larosa is that he will be eligible for parole in 19 years.  And then five years after that, every five years, for the rest of his life, or until he is released.  Aside from the retroactive aspect of this law, which punishes victims, our family had no notice whatsoever that this bill was even being discussed.  This is a direct violation of the Ohio Constitution, which states that victims have a Constitutionally protected right “to be heard in any public proceeding involving release, plea, sentencing, disposition, or parole, or in any public proceeding in which a right of the victim is implicated.” Source: https://tinyurl.com/marsyohio.

What troubles me so deeply is that of 33 Ohio state senators, only four voted against this awful bill.  And only nine representatives voted no out of 99.  Two of those nine votes were Democrats from Trumbull County, where my grandmother was born, lived, and died.  I don’t see this as a partisan issue, but I am a Republican.  And if you told me that my fellow Republicans in Ohio, the so-called “tough on crime” and “law & order” type politicians, would vote to essentially re-sentence my grandmother’s killer to 19 years in prison, with the opportunity for release that year and every five years after, I would have thought you were talking about California’s Gov. Gavin Newsom, or some strange new leftist party in a Scandinavian country.

But good old-fashioned Ohio politicians, boring, predictable, but generally common sense oriented, have just voted to empower teen killers.  The effects will be enormous.  My mother and aunt, both of who testified in open court against Larosa, never would have done so if they thought he had a chance of getting out during their lifetimes.  What chilling effect will this have on future witnesses in other crimes?  

This law must be killed.  And I will dance on its grave.  Whether this is accomplished with a lawsuit, Constitutional Amendment, or legislation remains to be seen.  But I will not relent.  Because it is patently unfair to me, and the rest of my family, as well as my children, to be sentenced to a lifetime of parole hearings, wondering if the next parole board would be the one to release Jacob Larosa.

I’ve heard it said about legal proceedings that often, the process IS the punishment.  Reliving the ugliest and saddest chapter of my life over and over and over again is punishing for sure, which is why the ex post facto aspect of this is on shaky constitutional ground (in my humble opinion).  

S.B. 256 took effect April 12, 2021.  The Supreme Court of the United States issued a 6-3 ruling 10 days later undoing the legal rationale of  many legislators who supported it.  That’s a big victory already.   

To this day, I write letters almost every day to legislators who supported this bill.  Their own emailed replies show that they have very little grasp of what the bill does.  Our legislators were basically told, “Sign onto this, it will keep TJ Lane the school shooter in prison.”  Yes, the bill actually has an exception that thus far, only applies to Lane.  But for people like me, and my family and children who have been affected by a cold blooded killer, is my grandmother’s life less important?  Are Trumbull County residents not worthy to govern and rule as they see fit?  Or are only 133 legislators (including Gov. DeWine) eligible to arbitrarily dish out justice?

I have now known about S.B. 256 for a month.  Already, I’ve made contacts with many organizations, attorneys, news agencies, and fellow victims.  We will win this fight.  And I vow to shame and embarrass my own party if I have to.  Because you cannot call yourself a law and order candidate while voting for a bill that at its worst will free the worst killers in Ohio, and at its best, traumatizes victims over and over, on a Five Year Plan of madness.  

As more Ohioans learn about this, they will demand accountability.   The fight has just begun.  And I won’t stop.  And my children won’t stop either. 

Read another statement from Brian here.