Man arraigned in death of housemate

Coroner: Victim was dead before body was hit by train

Lecorius J. ‘Corey’ Reynolds, 34, is arraigned in the death of Roy H. Roberts, 51.

A Toledo man who police said fatally beat his housemate and then disposed of the body on railroad tracks in the city’s south side was arraigned Monday in Toledo Municipal Court.

Lecorius J. Reynolds, 34, of 129 Dale St., was ordered held in the Lucas County jail in lieu of $1 million by Judge C. Allen McConnell. A preliminary hearing is set for May 12.

Mr. Reynolds, who also goes by Corey, was charged with murder in the slaying of Roy H. Roberts, 51, of the same address.

In an affidavit filed in municipal court, police said Mr. Reynolds confessed to using his hands to hit Mr. Roberts on the neck and face at the house on Friday and dragging the body to the nearby Norfolk Southern tracks at Air Line Avenue and Gibbons Street, just north of the Anthony Wayne Trail.

The victim’s naked body was struck by a train about 9 p.m., when Norfolk Southern notified police.

Dr. Cynthia Beisser, Lucas County deputy coroner, said Mr. Roberts’ death was caused by blunt-force injury on the neck and occurred before he was hit by the train.

The case is being treated as a homicide pending results of toxicology tests that may take weeks, she said.

Neighbors say the two-story house on Dale is occupied by boarders. Court records show the house is a group home. However, it is not licensed for services by the Ohio Department of Mental Health.

Dustin Hudson, 18, who lives near the residence, said he had spoken to the victim several times when Mr. Roberts stopped him to ask for a cigarette.

“It’s sick. Why hurt someone who cannot defend himself?” Mr. Hudson said.

Mr. Reynolds was arrested at the house on Dale on April 11 after an altercation with the group leader in which he caused other residents to fear for their safety, municipal court records said.

He pleaded no contest to misdemeanor disorderly conduct. He received a four-day jail sentence.