GRANDVIEW HEIGHTS, Ohio — A second person of interest wanted in the beating death of a Grandview Heights man was taken into custody Wednesday.
Last week, Grandview officers and medics received a call about an unconscious man found near the train tracks on West Fifth Avenue, just east of Dublin Road. The man, identified as 57-year-old Stephen Albright was suffering from severe head injuries and taken to a hospital in critical condition. He died days later.
Jacob Laurence, 33, was taken into custody in the 1300 block of Dublin Road, just west of Grandview, Wednesday morning.
Albright’s brother, James Albright, spoke to 10TV Wednesday before police announced they found Laurence. He said Grandview Heights police have kept him and his sister-in-law updated on any new information.
“The Grandview PD has really both reached out by phone and text to both my brother's wife Stephanie and me to keep us up to date on the process going forward,” said Albright. “They are, by all appearances working very hard on this. They've made a lot of consistent breakthroughs and that's very encouraging.
According to a release from police, Laurence had an outstanding warrant from a previous burglary in Franklin County. He was booked into the Franklin County jail on the warrant.
Albright said he wasn’t as hopeful last week as he is now that there might be some answers as to who led to his brother’s death.
“I have to say at the very beginning this all felt so random and so impossible to track down, I wouldn't know how they would have done it. We're now at a stage where the person identified, they're actively looking for him and interviewing witnesses, there's all kinds of evidence. It's just a question of finishing up that last little bit,” Albright said.
On Tuesday, police were conducting surveillance in the area of South Columbian Avenue in the Hilltop neighborhood when a female person of interest was taken into custody. Authorities are not naming her at this time.
Albright's family started a GoFundMe to help pay for medical bills for when he was on life-support at a hospital. If you'd like to help support the family, click here.