Suspect in Barnesville murder dead, kidnap victim safe
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ST. CLAIRSVILLE -- The man suspected of fatally shooting 69-year-old Norma Matko and kidnapping her daughter, Nicole Bronowski of Cuyahoga Falls, was reported killed during a fight with law enforcement in Louisiana Tuesday night. One FBI agent is injured and Bronowski is safe with her family.
Belmont County Sheriff David Lucas gave the news in a press conference Wednesday afternoon.
The conference included multiple agencies from the state and federal level who participated in the hunt for the suspect, James Edward Hawley, also known as Ahmad Ben David, 47, of Cleveland.
Jeff Fortunato, assistant special agent in charge at the Cleveland office, gave background on the multi-agency investigation. Hawley, believed to have been in a relationship with Bronowski at one time, is believed to have kidnapped her last Wednesday, then traveled to Barnesville where he allegedly killed Matko, who was reported dead Thursday. Matko's car was later found burned in Cleveland, and Hawley was found in Louisiana. The participating agencies were commended for the work and cooperation in the investigation.
Return to theintellingencer.net later today for more on this developing story.