May 25, 2022
Arturo Novoa killed, Shannon Graves, with a hammer. He and his new girlfriend dismembered and dissolved her body.
Arturo Novoa and Shannon Graves met in April 2016. Their relationship turned romantic, and they moved into a home on Mahoning Avenue, Youngstown, state.
Novoa was abusive towards Shannon and their relationship ended in December 2916. Novoa then moved out of the apartment he shared with Shannon and moved in with Katrina Layton.
A week later, Novoa would move back to Shannon’s.
On February 24, 2017, things turned violent between the couple. Novoa beat Shannon to death with a hammer in their bedroom.
Novoa called Layton for help in getting rid of the evidence.
Novoa first shaved Shannon’s head. Then the pair wrapped her body in several garbage bags, placed her remains in his car’s trunk, and drove to Layton’s house.
Novoa would enlist the help of a friend, Andrew Herrmann. Herrmann brought tools to Layton’s house and together they dismembered Shannon’s body and stored the pieces in containers.
Novoa and Layton then ordered an “in-store pickup” of 12 gallons of sulfuric acid through Walmart. When placing the order, they used the alias “Chicken Man”.
The Walmart employee would not release the purchase until she saw identification. Layton showed her ID and used her own credit card to pay for the sulfuric acid.
They drove back to the Mahoning Avenue address, where Shannon’s body was.
Novoa and Layton poured the sulfuric acid into the container they held Shannon’s torso and head.
All of Shannon’s torso and had dissolved expect for a portion of her skull. They put the piece of skull, along with her arms and legs, into the freezer.
For the next few months, Layton would live in the apartment Novoa shared with Shannon. She cared for her dog, used her phone and her credit cards.
On June 22, 2017, Shannon’s half-sister, Debbie DePaul, reported Shannon missing. Once Novoa found out that police and family were looking for Shannon, he rented out a new apartment on Ravenwood Avenue and bought a new freezer.
He used Shannon’s car to move her remains to the freezer in the apartment on Ravenwood Avenue.
The police had got a search warrant for the apartment on Mahoning Avenue, where Shannon had lived.
This made Novoa nervous. He called a friend and asked if he could store his freezer of meat at his house, because the power went out in his apartment.
His friend agreed. Novoa and two friends helped him move the freezer around 3:00a.m.
The friend who was storing the “freezer of meat” decided to take a piece out to cook for himself.
The court documents state there was a lock on the freezer, but it was installed upside down, which made it open easily. Inside, the friend found Shannon’s remains. They contacted authorities.
Novoa was arrested and charged with murder, tampering with evidence, abuse of a corpse, possession of criminal tools, grand theft auto, theft of WIC benefits, and drug trafficking (unrelated to the murder).
He was sentenced to 43 years to life in prison.
Katrina Layton was charged with tampering with evidence, obstruction of justice, and abuse of a corpse. She was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
Andrew Herrmann was charged with abuse of a corpse, engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, and drug trafficking. He was sentenced to 12 years.
Michelle Ihlenfeld was charged with lying to a grand jury and intimidating a witness. She received 2.5 years in prison. Upon release, she will have to spend 6 months in a halfway house and 5 years of probation.
