Jonathan D. Crago

LOWELLVILLE – Jonathan D. Crago, 38, of Holly Drive in Girard, charged by police with killing a woman and her adult daughter hours before he killed himself in a vehicle in Parma, was the ex-boyfriend of the younger woman, police said.

Lowellville police Chief Rick Alli said the killings Wednesdsay appear to have stemmed from an âongoing domestic disputeã between Crago and the younger woman.

The Mahoning County Coroner’s Office identified the women as Deborah Hudak, 55, who died at 340 Watson St.; and Cathryn Hudak, 25, who was taken to St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital and pronounced dead there, according to a news release.

“The girlfriend had made numerous reports to different agencies, such as Girard and Boardman, about him harassing her,” Alli said. “That’s how we were able to pinpoint a lot of his information.”

Alli said there were also eyewitnesses who described someone meeting Cragoás description as being involved.

The shootings are believed to have happened at about 6:30 p.m. at the Watson Street home in Lowellville. The home is several blocks northwest of the police station.

A 911 call was made after someone heard gunshots, and police discovered the shootings when they got there, Alli said.

Alli said law enforcement researched known incidents involving the victim and Crago, and found that she had reported issues with Crago in multiple area jurisdictions, leading to Crago being a suspect in the shootings.

Alli said Lowellville was assisted by the Mahoning County Homicide Task Force, the Mahoning County Sheriffás Office, and assistance was also provided by the Campbell, Poland and Struthers police departments.

ACTION IN PARMA

He said the help enabled law enforcement to quickly get out information on Crago as being a suspect. Crago was located in Parma within two hours of the shootings, maybe sooner.

“No more than two hours later, they were on him. They spotted him up there,” Alli said of Parma police. An all-points bulletin was sent out with an hour, and murder warrants were issued within three hours, the chief said.

The all-points bulletin indicated the types of vehicles Crago had been known to use, and the Parma Police Department spotted one of those vehicles.

“Parma officers spotted it,” Alli said. “They actually were involved in a short pursuit, and Parma had to have a lockdown in the area when they finally got the car stopped.”

Crago remained in the vehicle, and it created a standoff situation, Alli said. Crago died of a self inflicted gunshot wound in the vehicle, which belonged to a Crago family member, the chief said.

The killings are the first homicides in the Lowellville in more than 20 years, Alli said.

Alli said posts on social media gave incorrect information about the danger the incident posed to other Lowellville residents. Crago was not “at any time loose in the community. He actually fled the village immediately,” Alli said. Social media posts suggested something different, Alli said.

Law enforcement in Parma issued a shelter in place order near Pearl and Velma avenues starting at 9:30 p.m. Wednesday because of a standoff involving several law enforcement agencies, according to Cleveland news media.

The Lowellville Police Department filed two counts of aggravated murder against Crago in the killings Wednesday night. The charges were filed in Struthers Municipal Court and included an arrest warrant.

CRAGOáS PAST

Crago was indicted on a felony charge of possession of a fentanyl related compound and illegal use or possession of drug paraphernalia in 2019 on December 2018 charges out of Bazetta Township. Crago had address on Holly Drive in Girard and Memphis Avenue in Cleveland at the time.

In September 2019, he requested a program in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court called treatment in lieu of conviction and was granted the motion. This March, his charges were dismissed. Treatment in lieu of conviction allows a person to receive treatment and to have his or her charges dismissed if he or she successfully completes the requirements of the program.

Crago had a Dennison Avenue address in Cleveland in 2015 when he was indicted in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court on heroin possession for a February 2015 offense in Warren. He likewise asked for treatment in lieu of conviction in that case, and the charge was dismissed in 2017.