AKRON, Ohio — Bill Liming says he doesn't feel like he can remain silent any longer. His son, Ethan Liming, was a star athlete, an honor roll student and a rising senior. Summer vacation had just started when the 17-year-old was brutally beaten and killed. Now, months later, his father feels like he is being victimized by the justice system.
“I naively believed that once the people who murdered my son were caught that the justice system would simply handle things. We’ve said all along we were confident when the facts of the case were presented that Ethan would receive justice,” said Liming.
But the grieving father feels that hasn’t happened.
“The people who have the power to stand up for my son are not doing it, so it’s up to me as a father to speak for my son who cannot speak for himself,” said Liming.
Ethan and his three friends drove to the I Promise School parking lot in Akron. Liming said his son and another friend sat in the car while the two others got out. Police said that's when a water bead was fired from a toy gun; it came from a Splatrball Water Bead Blaster aimed at a group of young men playing basketball. It was part of a TikTok challenge, according to Liming.
Liming said Ethan’s friends ran back to the car; the group of men initially ran away as well.
“When they figured out that they were not being shot by a real gun, they decided to go and confront Ethan and all of his friends who were in the car,” said Liming.
According to court documents, Ethan stepped out of the car. He was confronted by the three, and he fired a Splatrball water bead, which led to the fight that killed him. Liming said his son was punched, kicked, stepped on and beaten. One of his friends called 911.
According to court documents, one of the three, Donovan Jones, was kicking the car, trying to get in. When he did, he punched those in the car and tried to drag them out while one was still on the phone, calling for help.
Prosecutors said in court that video surveillance then captured them running from Jones.
Police originally charged Deshawn Stafford, his brother Tyler and their cousin Jones with murder. But, in July, a grand jury indicted the trio on lesser charges.
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Liming blames the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office for that decision; he doesn’t believe all the facts were presented.
Back in June, Akron police said race was not a factor in the killing.
“There is nothing that we have in our possession, right now, any information at all indicating that race played a role in this homicide,” said Chief Steve Mylett of the Akron Police Department.
Liming isn’t so sure.
“I would like to believe race doesn’t play a role in this. I’m married to a Filipino woman. She’s got Black cousins. When we get together for extended family gatherings for birthdays, graduation parties for holidays, we’re a beautiful picture of what we hope to be a society. But when I asked Brian LoPrinzi in the initial prosecutor’s meeting I had with him, I asked him if race made a difference, if my son’s skin color made a difference in the way in which they are approaching it, and he said yes,” said Liming.
Brian LoPrinzi, Chief Criminal Division with the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office, said in a statement:
“Mr. Liming’s accusations are not true. No parent should ever have to bury their child. We can’t imagine what Mr. Liming is going through. He’s trying to make sense of an act which no one can make sense of. We met with the Liming family and their attorney and explained the facts and evidence which we were legally permitted to tell them about. At no time did the race of any of those involved play a factor in the charges. We would never say, suggest, or will we ever suggest that this was a racially motivated crime. It is our job to see that justice is done. We cannot turn back the clock for the families we fight for."
Last month, Jones entered no contest to misdemeanor assault charges. He was given a suspended sentence and credited with time served.
RELATED: Man gets suspended jail sentence in connection with Ethan Liming case
Liming is upset, angry and frustrated.
“A source who was at the initial prosecutor’s meeting between the detectives and the prosecutors describe the prosecutor’s meeting as being very contentious," Liming said. "Some of the prosecutors wanting felonious assault charges and murder charges, others basically wanted no charges at all, with one of the prosecutors saying that Ethan received 'hood justice,' which was a new term to me. I was unfamiliar with the terminology 'hood justice,' I guess implying Ethan got what he deserved."
The prosecutor’s office said that’s not true.
Since June 2, 2022, Liming said his family has been living the nightmare of the killing of Ethan; they’ve been harassed and received hateful emails.
“We’ve received emails celebrating the fact that my son’s head was crushed like a watermelon and laughing how his chest was stomped, and I’ve been called a white moron,” said Liming.
He is now calling for the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office to take another look at the charges or step aside and let the Ohio Attorney General’s Office step in. He has also asked the FBI to investigate to find out if there is a civil rights violation.
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