Tuesday, February 02, 1999
Accused killer's friend saw anger
BY STEVE KEMME
The Cincinnati Enquirer
HAMILTON — One of James D. Sudberry's closest friends said she had been worried the past two years that his anger might cause a tragedy.
“I felt he was capable of just snapping and killing somebody one of these days,” said Julie Bolinger of Columbus, who has been his friend for about 10 years. “He was on a path of self-destruction, and I could see it. I kept telling him to turn to God.”
Mr. Sudberry, 25, of Eaton, Ohio, is accused of stabbing to death his uncle, James L. Sudberry, 37, of Hamilton.
Hamilton Municipal Court Judge John Rosmarin on Mon day ordered Mr. Sudberry held without bond in the Butler County Jail. He is charged with murder.
Judge Rosmarin will decide at a hearing Friday whether there is probable cause to send the case to a Butler County grand jury.
Police found the body of James L. Sudberry, a former amateur boxer, in a Maple Avenue garage in Hamilton on Jan. 26 after a neighbor reported seeing a body being dragged down the alley between Ludlow Street and Maple Avenue.
Early Monday morning, Dayton police arrested James D. Sudberry and turned him over to the custody of Hamilton police.
Hamilton Police Officer Dave Crawford said the motive for the slaying is still being investigated. The Butler County coroner's office has not released an autopsy report.
The victim recently had returned to his native Hamilton from Colorado.
Ms. Bolinger, a 25-year-old mortgage consultant, said James D. Sudberry called her last week to ask her if he could use her as a reference on a job application at a fast-food restaurant. He had attended college, but was not going to school or working at the time, she said.
She has been friends with the younger Mr. Sudberry since they both attended Eaton High School.
He had a troubled background and was raised by grandparents in Eaton who have done their best to guide him, Ms. Bolinger said.
“He was a very lost and confused individual who never felt like he belonged anywhere,” she said.
She said although she never witnessed him being violent, she sometimes could sense an intense anger that boiled within him.
James D. Sudberry's only criminal record involves a charge of petty theft. He was accused of taking $9.34 in food from a Kroger store in Hamilton on Jan. 9, according to police records.
Ms. Bolinger cried when she learned of his arrest.
“I knew if he did not get help, something would happen,” she said. “I tried to help him. But we all make our own choices.”
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