A Cuyahoga County grand jury has indicted a 29-year-old Cleveland man on 42 counts in connection with an October 13 attack inside a Cleveland home that left a 16-year-old dead and a second 16-year-old injured, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office announced. The charges are allegations in a superseding indictment returned on October 21, and the accused is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Source: Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office
Prosecutors allege that at about 5:55 a.m. on October 13, the accused entered a residence near Loop Drive and Division Avenue in Cleveland where two 16-year-olds were sleeping. Prosecutors allege he fatally stabbed one teenager and sexually assaulted the other before fleeing the scene. Awaaz Punjab does not name minor victims; both teenagers are identified here by age and city only.
The Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority Police Department, the Cleveland Division of Police and Cleveland EMS responded to the scene, according to the prosecutor's office. One teenager was pronounced dead at the scene, and the second was taken to a nearby hospital and treated for injuries. Cleveland police arrested the accused two days later, prosecutors said.
At the time of the October 13 incident, prosecutors say, the accused already had an active rape warrant for his arrest and had previously been indicted on counts of rape, unlawful sexual conduct with a minor and other charges. The October 21 indictment is a superseding indictment that combines both matters, the prosecutor's office said. PEOPLE also reported the indictment, citing the prosecutor's office.
The charges in the superseding indictment
The indictment charges two counts of aggravated murder, one count of murder, two counts of aggravated burglary, five counts of rape, one count of kidnapping, two counts of felonious assault, 13 counts of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor or impaired person, 13 counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, one count of tampering with evidence, one count of menacing by stalking and one count of aggravated menacing, according to the prosecutor's office.
The accused will be arraigned at the Cuyahoga County Justice Center at a later date, and the investigation remains ongoing, the prosecutor's office said.