East Toledo man pleads guilty to murdering wife

12/4/2008
BLADE STAFF

An East Toledo man who was recently found competent to stand trial in the murder of his wife and assault on his son was sentenced Thursday in Lucas County Common Pleas Court to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years.

Youseff Ramadan, 45, pleaded guilty to one count each of murder and felonious assault. Judge Frederick McDonald imposed a 15-year-to-life prison sentence for murder and an 8-year sentence for the assault. As part of the plea agreement, Judge McDonald ordered the sentences to be served concurrently.

Ramadan was arrested Sept. 26, 2007, after eluding authorities for hours. Toledo police said he beat and fatally stabbed his wife, Mirvat Ramadan, 40, and bludgeoned his then 14-year-old son, Mohamad, who apparently was trying to stop the attack.

Mrs. Ramadan died at St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center, where she was taken after the stabbing.

The teenager suffered a broken jaw, a laceration to the face, and bruises. His younger sister was not home at the time because she had left for school about 30 minutes prior to the attack, police said.

Shortly after being indicted on the charges, Ramadan was found incompetent to stand trial. After spending more than a year at the Toledo campus of the Northcoast Behavioral Healthcare System undergoing treatment, he was declared competent on Nov. 17.