Accused murderer offered undisclosed deal from state

Accused murderer James H. Blair has some more time to consider accepting or rejecting a plea deal.Huron County Prosecutor Daivia Kasper declined to provide details on the offer she made Wednesday to the 51-year-old Willard man. The state's plea deal will be available until Friday.Blair and his attorney, Huron County Public Defender David Longo, were in court Tuesday for a final pre-trial hearing, which was reset for Wednesday afternoon so Blair could consider the state's offer."This is a very significant case," Kasper said. "The defendant needs some time to consider his options."Blair is accused of shooting and killing his neighbor, Linda Ciotto, 62, while she mowed her yard about 9 p.m. July 28, 2015 on Kirkwood Drive in Willard. He is charged with one count each of aggravated murder, murder, felonious assault and gross abuse of a corpse. Blair has been unable to post a $1 million bond.His next hearing in Huron County Common Pleas Court is 10 a.m. Friday."Mr. Blair has been in jail for more than a year," Longo said. "He got his first offer late last week."The victim's daughter, who was in the courtroom Wednesday, declined to comment.Blair's trial, if it goes forward, would start Oct. 12."I expect the state's case to last five full days," Kasper told Judge Jim Conway. "I think that includes jury selection, if jury selection takes one day."The prosecutor expects to have jurors view the Willard crime scene before the trial. Conway told the attorneys to exchange their witness lists as soon as possible.Several agents with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and a deputy coroner are expected to testify for the state. The Huron County Sheriff's Office investigated Ciotto's death. Sheriff Dane Howard has said it's believed Blair was upset over the victim "mowing the grass late in the evening," but he didn't know of any other problems. Blair lived beside Ciotto for about 18 months before the 2015 shooting. His mother lived beside her several years before that.Blair's mother, Billie A. Hinkle, 73, of Willard, is charged with tampering with evidence and and two counts of obstructing justice. Deputies have said they found a .38 caliber bullet in the victim's body and the suspected murder weapon — a .38 revolver — in Hinkle's purse.During Wednesday's hearing, Blair asked the judge what, if any influence, he might have over selecting jurors. Conway and Longo told him no jurors would be eliminated without him being consulted.Conway encouraged Blair to wear civilian clothes during the trial because otherwise, "it might give the wrong impression to the jury" if he wore a jail uniform. Blair indicated he might have some clothes in his vehicle and Conway said the court and public defender's office could make arrangements for a change of clothes.