Judge sets $2 million bond for suspect in 'brutal' killing of 61-year-old woman on North Side

Bethany Bruner, Columbus Dispatch
Updated ·2 min read
24
Columbus police say this man is a person of interest in a homicide at a North Side home. A 61-year-old woman died from injuries suffered in a "brutal attack."

The husband of a 61-year-old woman who police said was brutally attacked on Friday night pled for a high bond for the man charged in her killing.

The husband of Li-Chu Lin spoke during an emotionally charged hearing before Judge Eileen Paley as 36-year-old Arthur Scott Jr. made his first appearance in court since his weekend arrest.

"It's completely shattered our American dream," Lin's husband said, asking Paley for a $100 million bond for Scott to set an example.

After he spoke, Paley said she felt like she was about to cry.

"I know it is just an allegation, but I don't think I've seen anything this hideous," Paley said.

Paley ordered Scott, currently charged with murder, rape and kidnapping, held in the Franklin County jail on a $2 million bond.

Scott was arrested Saturday and admitted to killing Lin, according to an affidavit filed by police in the case.

Columbus police got a call around 10:25 p.m. Friday inside a room at an extended-stay hotel on the 6100 block of Zumstein Drive on the city's North Side. When officers arrived, they found Lin and traumatic injuries that appeared to be the result of a "brutal attack," court records say.

Lin died at the scene.

In an affidavit filed in Franklin County Municipal Court, police allege that hotel video showed Scott walking down the hallway and checking for open room doors before entering a room a short time before Lin. The video also showed Scott leaving the room without a baseball hat he was wearing when he went inside. Police say they found that baseball hat at the scene.

In court records, police accused Scott of hitting Lin multiple times in the head and kneeling on her neck, which they believe killed her. Detectives said evidence at the scene led them to believe Lin was sexually assaulted.

In the affidavit, police alleged that Scott confessed to Lin's death "and other crimes."

According to records from the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, Scott was released from prison in October after serving three years in prison for abduction in Cuyahoga County. In that case, an attempted rape charge was dismissed, according to Cuyahoga County court records.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Woman killed in 'brutal attack' Columbus police ID person of interest