(YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio) — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost today announced that a Mahoning County woman, Katrina Layton, pleaded guilty for her role in the murder and dismemberment of Shannon Graves.
The agreement charges Layton with eight felony counts:
4 counts of tampering with evidence (F3)
3 counts of obstruction of justice (F3)
1 count of abuse of a corpse (F5)
Layton will be sentenced on Jan. 29. The charges carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
A previous plea agreement was vacated after Layton failed to fully cooperate with the state as agreed.
Arturo Novoa, aka Anthony Gonzalez, pleaded guilty to the murder and cover-up of Graves. He was sentenced to 48 years to life in prison.
The Youngstown Police Department, Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI investigated the case, which is being handled by Yost’s Special Prosecutions section
“Murder most foul – this is the stuff of nightmares,” Yost said. “This plea shows the defendant’s callousness not only to kill, but to butcher his victim in an attempt to escape the justice he now faces.”
Arturo Novoa, aka Anthony Gonzalez, participated in the cover-up of the murder of Shannon Graves by mutilating, destroying and concealing her body after she died. Novoa murdered Graves, tampered and destroyed evidence, and then dismembered, moved and abused her corpse. Novoa, along with others, shared a common purpose, which was to ensure that Graves disappeared forever.
The plea agreement entered into today includes 47 felony counts of murder, tampering with evidence, abuse of a corpse, possession of criminal tools, theft of food stamps, grand theft of a motor vehicle, drug trafficking of marijuana and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity. Novoa will be sentenced at 11 a.m. on June 14 in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
The Youngstown Police Department, Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation were integral to the investigation of the case. The Special Prosecutions section of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office prosecuted the case.
