Plea negotiations ongoing in Brian Fazio attempted murder, murder-for-hire case

Plea negotiations will take place over the next five weeks in the case of a Lorain man accused of trying to murder his estranged wife in 2021, then trying to hire someone to kill her after he was arrested and jailed by Elyria police. Brian Fazio, 42, currently is serving a sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole after 44 years. He was convicted of seven counts of rape and gross sexual imposition after a trial in Lorain County Common Pleas Court in December and labeled a Tier III sex offender. A jury found that Fazio raped and molested a teenage girl numerous times. He has appealed his conviction to the 9th District Court of Appeals in Akron. Still facing trial in five other felony cases making their way through court, Fazio has pleaded not guilty to charges he tried to murder his estranged wife in Elyria in April 2021. He also is accused of trying to hire someone to kill her while he was being held in the Lorain County Jail on attempted murder, rape and other felony charges, including aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery, domestic violence and violating a protection order resulting from the April 2021 incident. During a pretrial hearing in Judge James Miraldi's courtroom on Thursday, Mike Kinlin was granted permission to withdraw as one of Fazio's attorneys on the case. Attorneys Michael Gabelman and William Mooney will continue to represent Fazio on charges including attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, aggravated burglary, felonious assault, tampering with evidence, domestic violence, disrupting public service, violating a protection order, aggravated menacing and falsification. Miraldi said plea negotiations between Gabelman, Mooney and Assistant Lorain County Prosecutor Daniellela Leigh would continue, with the next pretrial hearing in the case set for Aug. 31. A trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 2 if no plea agreement is reached, Miraldi said, urging the parties to try and reach a resolution before then. Fazio is incarcerated at the Belmont Correctional Institution in eastern Ohio and appeared in court via video. Barring a successful appeal, his first parole hearing is scheduled in June 2065 when he will be 84 years old, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Fazio has multiple prior criminal convictions in Ohio and Florida, according to court records and trial testimony. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @DaveOBrienCT.