Four Suspects Plead Not Guilty In Missing Ohio Electrician’s Muder
Four people have been arrested in the murder of Cleveland electrician who was found slain and wrapped in a tarp earlier this month.
Terrance Burnett, 64, Harry L. Houston Jr., 62, Lavell D. Taylor, 28, and Tessa Ann Raczynski, 26, have been charged in the murder of 47-year-old Victor Huff, WJW reported.
Burnett, Houston, and Raczysnki pleaded not guilty during court appearances on Wednesday in Cleveland Municipal Court. Taylor, who was arraigned Thursday, also pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Harry Houston and Terrance Burnett Photo: Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Department
Lavell Taylor and Tessa Ann Raczynski Photo: Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Department
Huff was last seen around 5:30 a.m. on Aug. 2, when he said goodbye to his wife in their Lakewood, Ohio home before leaving for work, according to Cleveland ABC affiliate WEWS. His wife grew concerned after the 47-year-old stopped answering texts and phone calls and then discovered he never made it to work.
“She contacted the employer and they said he called off that day and then the second day when he hadn’t come home she learned he did not show up at work so that prompted her to report him missing,” Captain Stone said, WOIO reported.
She reported him missing on the morning of Aug. 3, according to the Lexington Herald Leader.
According to police, Huff withdrew roughly $500 from two cash machines in Cleveland at around 6:00 a.m. and then around 7:00 a.m. on Aug. 2, WKBN-TV reported. His truck was captured on a Lakewood surveillance camera shortly after the withdrawals.
His mother informed police of the withdrawals and that Huff might be having depression issues on Aug. 3, according to WEWS.
On the afternoon of Aug. 4, his wife spotted his truck being driven by an unfamiliar woman with dark hair less than three miles from where it was captured on the surveillance camera. She tried to follow the driver, but they took off. She then tried to report it stolen, but police needed more information to file the report.
Huff was found dead several hours later, in the Ohio City section of Cleveland’s west side on around 8:30 p.m., according to WKCY. A number of witnesses discovered his decomposing body wrapped in a tarp near the intersection of Train and Richner Avenues — less than two miles south of where his wife spotted his truck.
He’d been shot several times; his truck was found nearby. The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner positively identified him the following day.
Cleveland Police haven’t specified a motive in Huff’s killing and it’s unclear if the four suspects knew the Lakewood electrician.
Burnett, Taylor and Raczynski are all being held on a $1 million bond. Houston is being held on a $1,500,000 bond. Attorney information wasn't immediately available for them.
No other information was immediately released by authorities. A spokesperson for the Cleveland Police Department wasn’t immediately available for comment when contacted by Oxygen.com on Friday morning.
Huff, who was born in New York City, moved to Ohio at the age of 10 according to his obituary. An electrician, Huff also previously worked as a snowboard instructor in Vermont and later as a bricklayer in California. He loved music, camping, canoeing, biking, skateboarding, softball and carpentry.
Huff was found dead two days before he and his wife would have celebrated their 11th wedding anniversary, according to loved ones.
