In Ohio, Frederick Harroff is challenging the sentence after admitting to five felony counts.
LISBON, Ohio — Frederick L. Harroff has appealed a sentence of at least 39 years in prison after pleading guilty in Columbiana County to attempted murder, aggravated arson, felonious assault, kidnapping and strangulation.
The appeal filed in May is the latest step in a case that began with a June 2025 attack and moved through indictment, bond hearings, mental-health reviews and a guilty plea. Harroff, 66, was sentenced by Judge Scott Washam after the woman described being beaten with a baseball bat, strangled and trapped in a home that was set on fire.
The criminal case first took shape after the June 2, 2025, attack in Fairfield Township. An affidavit described Harroff repeatedly hitting the woman over the head and body with a heavy wooden baseball bat while she was lying in bed. County Prosecutor Vito Abruzzino later said the evidence showed an effort to burn the place down. A grand jury indicted Harroff in August 2025 on multiple felony counts, including attempted murder, kidnapping, aggravated arson and felonious assault. The arson counts reflected both alleged harm to the woman and damage to the property. The charges set up a case built around violence inside the home and the fire that followed.
Harroff entered a not-guilty plea during his arraignment in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court. He appeared in custody before Washam and was declared indigent, with attorney Robert Bricker assigned to represent him. The state was represented at that stage by county prosecutors, and an attorney also appeared for the woman. Bond became one of the first disputed points. Harroff remained jailed under a $500,000 cash or surety bond, and a later request to reduce that bond was denied. The high bond kept him in custody while the case moved toward trial dates that were later reset.
The defense then raised questions about Harroff’s mental state and ability to stand trial. In November 2025, the court ordered evaluations for competency and sanity after Bricker was expected to file written motions. By January 2026, Washam had adopted reports from the Forensic Psychiatric Center of Northeast Ohio. One report found Harroff competent to stand trial. The other addressed his sanity at the time of the offense and found he did not present with symptoms of a mental defect. Those findings kept the prosecution moving forward and narrowed the issues before any jury could hear the case.
Trial planning continued into early 2026. Harroff appeared for status hearings in custody, and the court set a jury trial date for March 30. Prosecutors and the defense later told the court a negotiated resolution was pending. On a Thursday in late March, Harroff pleaded guilty to attempted murder, aggravated arson, felonious assault, kidnapping and strangulation. The plea meant prosecutors no longer had to prove the charges to a jury. It also meant the woman would address the court at sentencing rather than testify at a contested trial. The case then turned from proof of guilt to punishment.
At sentencing, the woman gave Washam the most detailed public account of the attack. She said Harroff had left earlier, taken several pills, returned to the home and threatened her life while she was in bed. She recalled him saying, “I have nothing to live for, you’re not going to live either,” and later saying he would burn the home down and both would die. She said he struck her with the bat, put a rope around her neck, tried to strangle her with his hands and tried to hogtie her. “An entire hour, I fought for my life,” she said. She escaped out the back door and reached a neighbor.
Police evidence and the arrest location became part of the sentencing record. Officers found a blood-soaked bed and a bloody rope inside the home. Harroff had fled before police arrived. He was later found hiding in woods about 100 yards from his trailer on Columbiana-Lisbon Road. He had blood and burn marks on him. The woman’s home was destroyed by fire. Those facts gave prosecutors grounds to ask for a long prison sentence of 20 years to 25 1/2 years. Washam went further, imposing a minimum of 39 years and a possible maximum of 44 1/2 years.
The judge said the attack outweighed Harroff’s mitigation. Washam noted Harroff’s military service, decades of steady work, mental health history, suicide attempts and lack of a prior criminal record. He also heard Harroff say, “I never wanted to see her hurt,” and, “I take responsibility for everything that happened that night.” Harroff added that he did not remember everything and was not in his right mind. Washam still called the conduct “truly vicious and horrific.” The woman said Harroff had shown no remorse. Her family also spoke, with one niece saying he did not break the woman or the family.
The appeal now moves the case to the Seventh District Court of Appeals. The appeal will not reopen the case as a full trial. Appellate judges typically review written arguments, the trial court record and specific claims of legal error. The conviction by guilty plea remains in effect unless the appeals court orders a change. The sentence also remains the controlling sentence while the appeal is pending. No appellate decision has been reported as of May 19.
For now, Harroff’s case now stands as a completed Common Pleas Court prosecution with an active appellate challenge. The next public step is the appeals court schedule, including filings that will state exactly what part of the sentence or proceedings Harroff is contesting.
Author note: Last updated May 19, 2026.