Defendant in Easter Sunday 2021 murder in Lorain dies in hospital (UPDATED)

A Lorain man being held in the Lorain County Jail on a murder charge died Sunday after being taken to the hospital for an apparent medical emergency. Sheriff's spokesman Capt. Richard Bosley said corrections officers heard a noise about 7:55 a.m. Sunday morning from the cell of 35-year-old Steven Coleff. Coleff had apparently fallen in his cell. He was alert, but didn't remember what had happened and told corrections staff he was having a hard time breathing. Coleff was moved to the jail infirmary and an ambulance was called. Soon after arriving at University Hospitals Elyria Medical Center, Coleff went into "full cardiac arrest" and died, Bosley said. Detectives interviewed Coleff's cellmate and are awaiting a ruling on his cause of death. An autopsy is scheduled Tuesday. Bosley said the investigation hinges on Coroner Dr. Frank Miller's ruling, "but at this point everything is indicating it's natural causes." Coleff was charged with shooting and killing Jose Marrero, 38, of Lorain, in the 6100 block of Meadow Farm Road in the Deerfield Estate neighborhood of Lorain just after 8:30 p.m. on Easter Sunday, April 4, 2021. Marrero was found lying in the road with a fatal gunshot wound. Police said the gun used in the shooting was found at the scene and that Coleff admitted shooting Marrero. Neither man lived in the neighborhood, and Marrero was house-sitting at his cousin's home when he was shot, family said. Family said Marrero was a lifetime resident of Lorain, a handyman and the father of two children. He enjoyed fishing, playing chess, collecting comic books and shooting pool. Coleff, of Jenee Drive, pleaded not guilty in Lorain County Common Pleas Court to charges of murder, felonious assault, carrying a concealed weapon and improper handling of firearms in a motor vehicle in May 2021. The case was assigned to Judge Christopher Rothgery's court. In December, Rothgery denied Coleff's request for reduced bond. The next pretrial hearing in the case was scheduled to happen Wednesday. A trial was scheduled to start May 2, according to court records. Attorney Michael Stepanik, who was defending Coleff in court, said he was at a loss for words Monday. He called the situation "incredibly sad," and said his heart went out to Coleff's family. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @daveobrienCT.