LISBON, Ohio (WKBN) – A Columbiana County man is on trial, accused of killing his father in June 2022. Prosecutors say Nathan Tataseo beat his father over the head with a space heater.

Tataseo is charged with killing his dad, James. On Thursday, testimony centered around Tataseo’s interviews with police shortly after his father was killed.

“I took a soft approach, tried to be an empathetic approach to establish a connection,” said Det. Dan Haueter with the Columbiana County Major Crimes Task Force.

Det. Haueter said Tataseo’s story continuously changed during the interview. First, he claimed he was evicted from his father’s house on South Elm Street on June 27, before his father was killed. Later, when asked specifically about June 30, the story changed.

“He advised he stopped there in the morning to check on his father because he advised he wanted to give him a chance to ‘cool down.’ So he went to check on him and knock on the door,” Det. Haueter said.

Tataseo said he didn’t get an answer at the door. When pressed on why his dad needed to cool down, Tataseo claimed he didn’t need a reason to cool down.

Later, Det. Haueter told the defendant they had found fresh fingerprints on a space heater that is the suspected murder weapon.

“He said, ‘Nah.’ Then I asked him, ‘What?’ Then there was no response,” Det. Haueter said.

Prosecutors questioned Det. Haueter if the defendant raised questions about his dad.

Prosecutor Ryan Weikart: “Did the defendant ever ask when his dad died?”
Det. Haueter: “Nope.”
Weikart: “Did he ever express any emotion over his dad’s death?”
Det. Haueter: “None that I could see.”

The prosecution expects to finish presenting its case on Friday.