Zackary Gurd accepts deal to avoid possible death sentence in arson death of Chassidy Broadstone

WARREN -- Zackary Gurd accepted a plea deal Friday in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court, allowing him to avoid a potential death sentence for the fatal house fire that claimed the life of 16-year-old Chassidy Broadstone on Jan 19.

The jointly recommended plea deal, which was accepted by Judge Cynthia W. Rice, would see Gurd, 23, of Youngstown, facing between 40 and 60 years in prison.

Gurd pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder, aggravated arson, aggravated burglary and tampering with evidence.

The charges are connected to an arson on Nevada Avenue NW in Warren that killed Broadstone.

The home was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived shortly before 2 a.m., the report states. Warren fire Chief Kenneth Nussle said two young girls -- perhaps also teenagers -- had escaped the flames from a second-story window.

A call summary from Trumbull County 911, as the incident unfolded, has a caller telling a dispatcher that a "sister," 16, was in the house.

Nussle said, however, that firefighters couldn't get to the teen fire victim.

Broadstone was found on the floor of an upstairs bathroom, the chief said.

"The stairwell was completely incinerated. There was no way they could have escaped by way of the first floor," Nussle said.

One of those who escaped was taken to Trumbull Regional Medical Center for treatment.

That victim was not identified by authorities.

The chief said at least one of the pair had jumped to safety from the roof of the front porch.

Police released an image taken from surveillance footage of Gurd captured inside the home naming him as a suspect. Officers say Gurd was seen on video carrying a gas can into the home the night of the fire.

Gurd fled and the U.S. Marshals arrested Gurd shortly after he stepped off a Greyhound bus that he took to Chester, Virginia.

At an extradition hearing in Virginia, Gurd waived his rights to a hearing and was transported back to Ohio where he was booked into Trumbull County jail on felony charges March 5.

Co-defendants, Patricia Zarlingo, 27, and Brendan M. Daviduk, 28, both of Manchester Avenue in Youngstown, are expected to have jury trials in early 2024. The three face several felony charges for aggravated murder and arson.

Daviduk and Zarlingo were the first suspects arrested in connection to the fatal fire. They were taken into custody Feb. 1 at their home on the West Side of Youngstown when police noted a U-Haul van in the driveway.