Fugitive task force makes arrest in NC of suspect in Ohio real estate agent shooting

Real estate agent slaying suspect arrested in NC

CLEVELAND — A suspect in the fatal shooting of an Ohio real estate agent whose body was found in a vacant home he was trying to sell was arrested in North Carolina after a weeklong manhunt.

The body of prominent real estate agent Andrew VonStein was found Sept. 21 with a single gunshot wound, his wallet and cell phone missing. He was one of two agents in northeast Ohio killed in two days, prompting frightened agents in the area to cancel open houses and avoid meeting prospective buyers alone.

Robert Grigelaitis, 59, was arrested Tuesday night at a rest stop in Turkey, N.C., said Pete Elliott, U.S. Marshal for the Northern District of Ohio. He waived extradition back to Ohio in Duplin County District Court.

Elliott said Wednesday that marshals and Portage County deputies located Grigelaitis after following up on several leads.

Grigelaitis has addresses in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and in Ravenna in northeast Ohio, near the house where VonStein’s body was found. Turkey is about 70 miles north of Wilmington, N.C.

The body of real estate agent Vivian Martin, 67, was found Sept. 20 in a vacant home about 40 miles away in Youngstown. Authorities believe the two killings are unrelated.

Two men arrested in connection with Martin’s death were being held in the Mahoning County jail. Robert Brooks, 25, of Youngstown and Grant Cooper, 21, of Hubbard were each charged with aggravated murder, aggravated robbery, aggravated arson and kidnapping.

Mahoning County Prosecutor Paul Gains has said he may seek the death penalty.