Allison Wood | The Gazette

MEDINA — A “masked man” forced Shaun Cleland to go with him to David Heinricht’s Brunswick apartment and apparently killed him while Cleland watched, defense attorney Frank Gasper said Wednesday during his opening arguments.

“You’ll find my client did not do this,” Gasper said.

Cleland, 28, is accused of killing 19-year-old Heinricht late the night of Oct. 1, 2005, after flying in from his Army base in Hawaii earlier that day. Gasper said Cleland actually came to the area to get his truck in Brunswick shipped to his base in Hawaii and to pick up a tattoo kit.

Cleland also visited his estranged wife Christina Eichelberger for several hours where she worked at Johnny’s Pub and Grill in Brunswick to see if they could reconcile, Gasper said.

Eichelberger recently had moved in with Heinricht at his apartment on Clearbrook Drive, the same complex where she had lived with Cleland. She previously testified she served Cleland several beers before he left the bar at about 8 p.m.

While he was in the pub parking lot, Gasper said Cleland felt a gun at the back of his head and a “masked man” told Cleland to get in his rental car and drive.

The man, whom Cleland could not identify, told him to drive to the Hinckley Reservation in Hinckley Township. Once there, he told him to stop and get out, Gasper said. He then reportedly took out a cell phone and showed a picture of Cleland’s young niece, claiming he would harm her if Cleland didn’t do what he said.

They drove back to a parking lot adjacent to the complex where Heinricht and Eichelberger were living, Gasper said.

The masked man, who tied up Cleland’s hands, took him into the complex by using a key and was able to enter the apartment where Heinricht lived.

When he arrived home from work at about 11:40 p.m. Oct. 1, the man attacked Heinricht and apparently made him pass out. Cleland, who was told to sit on the floor, found that Heinricht still had a pulse before the man told him to leave, Gasper said.

The scene reportedly was staged to look like Heinricht hanged himself in the apartment’s living room, records show.

The man then ordered Cleland to take Interstate 71 north to the Snow Road exit and to drop him off at an office building near the exit. After that, Cleland went to get gas and then to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, where he was arrested several hours later.

Gasper said Cleland did not tell anybody about this masked man for several months because he was concerned about his niece’s safety. The girl is now 10 years old.

This is not the first time the masked man was mentioned. In 2006, Cleland pleaded guilty to all seven counts against him, which include aggravated murder, but wanted to change his pleas just before sentencing.

At the hearing, Cleland said a “masked man” killed Heinricht and that was the reason for his desire to change his pleas. Common Pleas Judge James L. Kimbler denied that request and sentenced him to 28 years to life in prison.

However, the 9th District Court of Appeals threw out his pleas last year because Cleland was never told he would be placed on post-release control if he is ever released from prison.

Cleland’s parents, Don and Jill Cleland, who are divorced, also testified Wednesday along with his older sister Brandy Cleland, who is the mother of Shaun Cleland’s niece.

Shaun Cleland apparently called his father after his arrest and said “they said I killed this guy” while speaking with him on the phone, Don Cleland testified.

However, a Brunswick officer testified he overheard Shaun Cleland telling his father “he killed a man.”

Jill Cleland testified Shaun told her about the masked man, but the prosecution showed a police statement she made that stated her son told her he killed Heinricht.

In late 2005, Brandy Cleland called Rittman police where she was living at the time because she was concerned for her daughter’s safety. The call came after Jill Cleland told her about something Shaun Cleland had said during a visit to the Medina County Jail, Brandy Cleland testified.

Earlier Wednesday, the state finished its case with testimony from Dr. Andrea McCollom, who performed Heinricht’s autopsy at the Cuyahoga County Coroner’s Office. She said she found fractures to bones in his neck, which could not be self-inflicted.

“I’ve never seen those fractures in a hanging,” McCollom said.

She said it also appeared Heinricht had struggled before his death due to the presence of other wounds on his body.

The cause of death was determined to be asphyxia by strangulation and the death was ruled a homicide, McCollom said.

The defense will call its last witness when the trial resumes today at 1 p.m. in Kimbler’s court.

Contact Allison Wood at (330) 721-4050 or allisonwood@ohio.net.