911 caller in homicide case says victim was in her driveway, not moving

In a 911 call made early Sunday, a Bucyrus woman told the dispatcher she didn't know what was wrong with the man passed out in her driveway after a fight, but "I can't get him to move."

Thomas Brown, 49, South Sandusky Avenue, was charged with murder in Crawford County Municipal Court on Monday in connection with the death of Sean Cassaro, 46, Bucyrus. Cassaro was pronounced dead at the scene after Bucyrus police and EMS were called to 515 Tiffin St. early Sunday, the Bucyrus Police Department reported in a news release Tuesday.

A recording of the 911 call, timestamped at 3:13 a.m. Sunday, was obtained by the Telegraph-Forum through a public records request. Bucyrus police have identified the caller as Rochelle Leonhardt, who lives at the Tiffin Street residence.

"I have Sean Cassaro passed out in my driveway; I don't know what's going on. I can't get him to move," the caller, who identifies herself as Leonhardt, told the dispatcher at the beginning of the call. She said there had been a fight.

The dispatcher asked if the man was breathing.

"I'm not sure 100%," Leonhardt said.

Asked if she'd witnessed the fight, Leonhardt said she had seen "bits and pieces. I started going inside, taking stuff inside."

Leonhardt said she was in a relationship with the man in her driveway. She said he had been fighting with "Tom Brown."

The dispatcher asked again if the man was breathing. Leonhardt repeated she wasn't sure, but that the man didn't have a shirt on and it was cold.

When asked how long he'd been there, Leonhardt said, "It's been 15, 20 minutes."

The dispatcher asked again if Leonhardt had seen the fight.

"Yes, bits and pieces... I'm right beside him right now; he's not moving," Leonhardt said.

Leonhardt: 'I need someone ASAP'

Dispatcher asked Leonhardt to stay on the line while she dispatched the fire and police departments.

"Sean. Baby!" Leonhardt said as she waited. "I need someone ASAP," she said when the dispatcher returned to the line.

"Let me know when he takes a breath," the dispatcher said.

"OK, I can't tell at all. He's out," Leonhardt said.

The dispatcher asked if the man was bleeding. "His hands, a bit," Leonhardt said, adding his eyes were closed.

The dispatcher asked Leonhardt if she could do CPR if he wasn't breathing.

"I don't know if I can tell," Leonhardt said. The dispatcher suggested using a light from her phone. "I don't know!" Leonhardt replied, sounding increasingly agitated.

"OK, just calm down here a second," the dispatcher said. "Can you put your hand on his chest and see if it moves at all?"

Leonhardt replied he was lying on his stomach, so the dispatcher ask if she could roll the man over. "I can try," Leonhardt said. "I need someone now."

Dispatcher tells caller police are in route

The dispatcher told her the police also were in route.

"OK. Yes. Now. OK," Leonhardt said.

The dispatcher asked if Cassaro had been drinking. "A little bit; not much," Leonhardt said. She said the two of them had been in Mansfield earlier, later adding they had been "at the Backroom." The Backroom Bar and Grille is on Laver Road in Mansfield.

"He's not moving at all. He's out like a light. I've been trying, OK," Leonhardt said.

The dispatcher asked if Leonhardt had been trying to get the man to move the entire time since the fight.

"Trying to move him and he's not moving," Leonhardt said, her voice shaking.

"OK, all right. I'm just making sure I, you know, have the times right here, so I can let the ambulance know how long he's been like that," the dispatcher said.

Leonhardt repeated that she needed help "now."

The dispatcher asked if anyone else was there, and where the other man had gone.

"He drove away. I don't know where he went," Leonhardt said. "OK?"

The dispatcher kept Leonhardt on the line until the ambulance arrived.

ggoble@gannett.com

419-559-7263

This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: After fight, 911 caller said she couldn't tell if man was breathing