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Ethan Liming: Slain Ohio teen, 17, had broken neck and SHOCKING shoe imprint on chest wall, autopsy finds

Ethan Liming's occipital bone had reportedly been broken, which is the major bone that connects to the cervical spine and protects the brain

AKRON, OHIO: A 17-year-old boy who was beaten to death at a school founded by LeBron James suffered a broken neck and was injured so badly that he had a shoe imprint in his chest wall, a preliminary autopsy has found. The report was released by the Summit County Medical Examiner (SCME) in Ohio. The slain teen Ethan Liming, 17, also suffered blunt force trauma to the head. The incident took place on June 2 when Liming and his friends reportedly began shooting a water gel gun at people playing basketball near the I Promise School. 

Liming's occipital bone had reportedly been broken, which is the major bone that connects to the cervical spine and protects the brain. Liming had a black eye and a head laceration. A broken cell phone was found lying near his body. The investigation is underway and the autopsy results and the death certificate could take several weeks to be finalized. 

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Liming and his friends stopped at the school's parking lot at around 10:40 pm. One of the friends shot the fake gun at a group of four basketball players on the neighboring courts and a small brawl subsequently broke out. Liming had been sitting in the car and upon noticing the brawl, he stepped out to defuse the situation, according to his father Bill Liming.

Bill told ABC5 Cleveland, “Ethan still thought it was horseplay when he got out of the car and was trying to tell people, ‘It’s relaxed. It’s just a joke. It’s a joke.’ And the individuals didn’t like that. One individual attacked him. Ethan still tried to tell them it was just a joke. And then another individual came up behind them, struck him in the head.”

Liming was later found unconscious on the ground and was pronounced dead on the spot. “We’re at the I Promise school in Akron, Ohio,” a caller had told a 911 dispatcher at the time of the incident. “Our friend just got knocked out. We don’t know what to do.” Blunt force injuries to the head were determined to be the cause of death. US Marshals and Akron police officers arrested Donovon Jones, 21, and brothers Deshawn Stafford Jr., 20, and Tyler Stafford, 19, on June 11 in connection with Liming's death. They pleaded not guilty at their arraignment in Akron Municipal Court on June 13. All of them have been charged with murder and felonious assault, an Akron Municipal Court clerk told the Daily Mail. They are now being held on $1 million bond at the Summit County Jail.

During a bail hearing, Stafford’s lawyer, Jonathan Sinn said his client and family members were playing basketball when a car pulled up and someone pointed at them what Stafford thought was an automatic weapon. Stafford said he ran, but when he realized there wasn’t an automatic weapon, he stopped and confronted Ethan, who was holding a SplatRBall gun. According to Sinn, the defendants were not trying to stop the car to prevent Liming from going to the hospital, as reportedly alleged. “My understanding is it wasn’t moved in an effort to try and prevent anyone from getting help,” Sinn said. “It was more of a situation of, ‘You guys are going to stay here. You guys are gonna stay here until the cops come, you’re going to have to explain the situation.’ So they didn’t want the other boys taking off because they really felt they were in the right.”

Chief Stephen Mylett of the Akron Police Department said on June 4 that the teen "lost his life in a senseless act of violence" and that he "did not deserve to die." At the time, Mayor Dan Horrigan of Akron said, "This type of violence in our community has ripple effects that touch each person, including myself, in profound ways, and I know the city of Akron is in mourning because of this tremendous loss.”