Funeral director faces trial on indecent assault charges
ERIC POOLEEPOOLE@ELLWOODCITYLEDGER.COM
NEW CASTLE — An Ellwood City business owner will be scheduled for trial in Lawrence County Court on charges including aggravated indecent assault.
Harold "Howie" Marshall, 51, of 200 Fountain Ave., Ellwood City, waived his right to a preliminary hearing Tuesday in Lawrence County Central Court on charges of aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault of an unconscious person and indecent assault.
Marshall is accused of fondling a woman in the early morning of Aug. 6 in an apartment building he owns on Second Street in Ellwood City near his home, which also is the location of his business, Marshall Funeral Home.
Around 3 a.m. that day, borough police said, the woman was with her boyfriend in a bedroom when Marshall entered the apartment and told the boyfriend that he had left the interior light of his vehicle on. The boyfriend went outside and the woman reportedly fell asleep.
The woman, who does not live in the apartment, was awakened a few minutes later when she felt something touch her genitals and opened her eyes to see Marshall standing over her. She then contacted police.
During an interview with police, Marshall admitted touching the woman's buttocks, according to court documents filed last month with District Judge Jerry Cartwright Jr., but he denied fondling her genitals.
After waiving the hearing, Marshall will now be scheduled for trial in county court.