Hearings set for Orrville couple involved in 81-year-old’s death

ORRVILLE  Edwin H. Eberle was often seen by residents walking or biking in the city.

Tarah Haskins, an extended family member of his from Massillon, described her great-uncle as a prominent member of the Orrville community.

“He considered everyone he met a friend and saw the good in everyone,” she told The Dalton Gazette & Kidron News.

A family member reported him missing early last week. Known by many as “Shorty,” the 81-year-old man was described as 4 feet 6 inches tall with blue eyes and glasses when local media shared that Orrville Police were looking for him.

The case turned into a homicide investigation the next day.

Eberle’s bicycle was found in the 600 block of W Market Street, near the residence of Stephanie E. Marks. Eberle was an acquaintance of Marks, according to an Orrville Police Department news release.

On Oct. 12, Marks was located by the Orrville police. After questioning, she was detained and a search warrant was executed. Police found Eberle’s body in her residence at 6241/2 W Market St. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation responded to process the crime scene. The Wayne County Coroner’s Office also was contacted to investigate.

Marks, 46, was arrested in connection with her involvement in the case and taken to the Wayne County Jail. Police sought an arrest warrant for a man they believed was involved in Eberle’s death and had fled the area.

The U.S. Marshals apprehended the second suspect, Ricky Ball, 54, at about 6 p.m. Oct. 13. Ball was a passenger on a bus headed for Chicago. The U.S. Marshals Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force intercepted the bus on the turnpike near Gibsonville, Ohio, according to a news release from the Orrville Police Department.

Ball was taken into custody without incident, the release states. Ball is being charged with murder, according to online court filings.

According to a complaint filed Oct. 13 in Wayne County Court of Common Pleas, Marks is being charged with complicity in the commission of an offense, which is a first-degree felony. The complaint states that on or about Oct. 10, Marks “did aid or abet another in committing the offense of aggravated robbery … she took the wallet of the deceased victim after observing Ricky Ball strangle the victim until he perished.”

An affidavit of probable cause states that Marks provided information that she took Eberle’s wallet after observing his death on Oct. 10. She told police that she and another subject left the apartment and went to Akron and Massillon before returning home on Oct. 12. She did not contact police any of those three days, the affidavit states.

A preliminary hearing is set for both Ball and Marks at 1 p.m. Oct. 21. Bond is set at $250,000 for Marks and $1 million for Ball.

The Orrville Police Department is requesting that anyone who may have information related to the case contact 330-684-5025. Persons with information who wish to remain anonymous may provide information by sending a text to 847411 and in the body of the text type “OPD” and then the tip.