19-year-old charged with murder in connection to 70-year-old’s death

DAYTON — UPDATE @ 2:08 p.m. (July 17):

The 19-year-old accused of killing a 70-year-old man he lived with has been charged with murder, records show.

Markell Simpson was charged with two counts of murder and two counts of felonious assault.

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His bond was set at $1 million and he was appointed an attorney during his appearance in Dayton Municipal Court this afternoon, records show.

UPDATE @ 4:38 p.m. (July 16):

Dayton police on Monday afternoon declined to comment on the relations between the victim and the suspect. However, officers acknowledged that both men lived at the address where the shooting occurred.

“They’re working on the motivation, putting the case together to present for the consideration of change,” Lt. Jason Hall said of investigators.

Residents at the apartment complex expressed shock at Lawrence’s death, saying the 70-year-old worked around the complex.

“He was a neighborhood maintenance man, he spoke to the kids, if you needed help, he was there to help, really sad and unfortunate,” said one woman who asked not to be identified.

Most residents at the complex seem to think Lawrence was killed while sitting on a couch, something police did not confirm Monday. They’re not sure why Simpson would shoot him but say, if he did, it just doesn’t make any sense.

UPDATE @ 11:25 a.m.: 

A woman, who identified herself as the mother of a 19-year-old arrested on a murder charge, called police after receiving a call from her son, according to a 911 call obtained by this news outlet.

“I just left work. He called me and said ‘come home,’” the woman said.

“And he said he shot someone, my roommate.”

The call ends with the woman saying she arrived at home followed by “Oh my God,” before the line disconnects.

We’ll continue to update this page as we learn more.

FIRST REPORT

A 19-year-old man has been arrested on a preliminary charge of murder after a reported shooting at a Dayton home Sunday morning.

Officers and medics were dispatched around 7:30 a.m. to the home in the 3700 block of Lakebend Drive on reports of a person shot, according to dispatch records.

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A man listed as the victim in a Dayton police incident report was identified as Robert Lawrence, 70, of Dayton, according to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office. His cause and manner of death were still under investigation, according to officials.

A man arrested at the scene, identified as Markell Simpson, 19, was booked into the Montgomery County Jail on a preliminary charge of murder, according to jail records.

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