Trial for Marion County man accused of stabbing woman delayed until Nov. 14

The trial for a Marion County man who allegedly stabbed a woman to death in July is now scheduled to begin in mid-November.

Chadwick A. Greenawalt, Sr., age 44, Marion, is accused of stabbing Natalie H. Rudd, age 42, Marion, during an altercation that was reported to 911 dispatchers at 2:33 a.m. on Sunday, July 3 at River Bend Family Campground, 1092 Whetstone River Road South, near Caledonia, according to a press release issued by the Marion County Sheriff's Office. Rudd later died from the wounds she suffered.

No knife was recovered at the campground or in Greenawalt's possession when he was later stopped by law enforcement.

According to online records from the Marion County Common Pleas Court, a grand jury indictment issued on July 6 includes the following charges against Greenawalt: two counts of murder, unspecified felony; two counts of involuntary manslaughter, both first-degree felonies; one count of voluntary manslaughter, a first-degree felony; and two counts of felonious assault, both second-degree felonies.

According to online court records, Marion County Common Pleas Court Judge Matthew P. Frericks has scheduled a pre-trial hearing in the case for Oct. 28. A four-day jury trial has been scheduled for Nov. 14-17 in Frericks' courtroom.

The trial was originally scheduled to begin on Oct. 3, but Judge Frericks granted a continuance requested by attorney Joel M. Spitzer, who is representing Greenawalt.

Judge Frericks granted a prosecution motion requesting that bond be denied for Greenawalt during a hearing held July 14. Greenawalt remains incarcerated at the Multi-County Correctional Center in Marion.

During the July 14 hearing, Det. Stacy McCurry from the Marion County Sheriff's Office testified that one witness she interviewed said he observed a fight at a picnic table in a campsite involving several people and saw the victim lying on the ground. McCurry said the witness told her that Rudd appeared to be injured and he observed blood on Rudd's shirt.

In the course of the investigation, McCurry said blood was discovered on the picnic table where the witness said he observed the fight occurring.

McCurry said another witness, a juvenile male, told her that allegedly an argument preceded the fight. The juvenile said that Greenawalt, who was allegedly intoxicated, was asked to leave the campsite. McCurry noted that the juvenile said that Natalie Rudd followed Greenawalt out of the campsite and an altercation ensued between her and Greenawalt. The juvenile told investigators that he observed Greenawalt striking Rudd between her waist and her neck.

Det. Christy Utley later testified that according to a report from the Lucas County Coroner's Office, which conducted the autopsy on Rudd's body, that Rudd had suffered four injuries on her upper body. There was a "slash on (Rudd's) upper right arm" and puncture wounds to her right arm, "the base of her sternum right below her ribs," her neck, and her abdomen.

Utley said, according to the Lucas County Coroner, the neck wound, believed to be caused by a sharp object or a knife, "severed (Rudd's) carotid artery" and "also cut part of another artery." Utley noted that the coroner told her it would only take "seconds" for someone to die from the wounds.

Utley also stated that a video of Greenawalt checking in at the campground office appeared to show a clip on the outside of his pocket that could have been part of a knife. When asked by Spitzer if a knife was visible in the video, Utley noted that no knife was visible. When Spitzer asked her if the clip could have been part of a cellphone case or a wallet, Utley agreed that it could have been.

Investigators said that, according to witnesses at the scene, Greenawalt fled the campground on a motorcycle and was later stopped by a Marion County sheriff's deputy. McCurry previously stated in an affidavit that Greenawalt "had blood on his hands when stopped by law enforcement officers."

Email: ecarter@gannett.com | Twitter: @AndrewACCarter

This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Trial for Marion man accused of stabbing woman delayed until Nov. 14