Staff report

GIRARD — A 20-year-old Austintown man appeared in Girard Municipal Court Monday via video link from the Trumbull County jail to be arraigned on a murder charge.

Cole P. Conti of Cannon Road is accused of causing the death of William Lowry in a stabbing early Saturday in the 500 block of Trumbull Avenue in Girard.

Judge Jeffrey D. Adler advised Conti of his constitutional rights. Adler set bond at 10 percent cash or surety of $750,000 and set a preliminary hearing for 9 a.m. Aug. 18.

Conti was arrested after he told police he had stabbed Lowry after Lowry punched one of the men he was with in the face, according to police reports.

The three men started to fight and Cole admitted to taking a knife and stabbing Lowry multiple times, according to a police report. The report states Lowry was stabbed five times. However, police later Saturday morning confirmed a report from St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital that a victim from Girard has been shot, not stabbed.

Police dispatch received notice at 1:10 a.m. that Lowry had died.

A police call summary report showed that a knife was recovered at the scene.

The case is also being investigated by the Trumbull County Homicide Task Force.

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