CLEVELAND (WJW) — A 61-year-old convicted murderer, who was out on parole, is now heading back to prison.
Scott Keenum appeared in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Wednesday and was sentenced to eight to 12 years in prison after Judge Timothy McCormick found him guilty of two charges, including burglary.
“The state believes this is the worse form of the offense,” said Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Carla Neuhauser. “He terrorized her.”
The prosecutor and an official with the state parole authority told the judge Keenum was on parole from Florida, where he had been convicted of second-degree murder. He also had previous convictions in Ohio.
“In my almost 12 years at the Berea Police Department, this is one of the more concerning cases that I handled,” said detective Richard Butler.
Butler told the judge the woman reported that one time she found Keenum standing by her bed naked. He also said some of the victim’s clothes were found in Keenum’s apartment and at a makeshift campsite Keenum had made near his workplace in Strongsville.
The detective noted officers also found mannequins, an axe and a shovel at the campsite.
The victim also spoke to the judge, but asked the FOX 8 I-Team not to identify her. She said she was traumatized by what happened.
Keenum told the judge he meant “no malice.”
“I didn’t mean this lady any harm,” Keenum said.
He told the judge he had an alcohol problem and didn’t know how he ended up inside her apartment or how he got her clothes.
“I am not buying that excuse,” Judge McCormick said. “There are a lot of people that drink to excess and don’t find themselves in a neighbor’s apartment naked.”