CANTON ‒ A Stark County grand jury has indicted a 34-year-old man on a murder charge in connection with the death of Ryan T. “JJ” Godbey — even though Godbey’s body has yet to be found.
Daniel Z. Mattay is also charged with felonious assault, strangulation, domestic violence, tampering with evidence and gross abuse of a corpse. The indictment alleges Mattay killed the 26-year-old Godbey on or about June 20. The same date is given for the other charges, except for escape.
Mattay was indicted on a charge of escape after being accused of trying to break out of the Stark County Jail on July 3.
The Stark County Prosecutor’s Office announced the indictment on Aug. 27.
Godbey was last seen June 19 at Darlin’s CREW, an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Canton. His last known text, sent to a friend at 12:27 a.m. June 20, said that a man named Danny was upset. He did not reply to a text from his friend.
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The original criminal complaint filed by Canton police against Mattay accuses him of beating and strangling Godbey, causing his death.
Godbey’s body has not been located. Authorities also haven’t publicly provided a possible motive.
Court records give a Massillon address for Mattay, but Canton police records state that he lived with Godbey in Canton.
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Mattay is being held on a $3 million bond and is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 29 in Stark County Common Pleas Court.
A phone message offering his attorney the chance to comment on his case was not immediately returned on the afternoon of Aug. 27.
Previous reporting: Police searching with ‘urgency’ for missing person last seen at LGBTQ+ club
Reach Nancy at 330-580-8382 or nancy.molnar@cantonrep.com.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Daniel Mattay charged with murder in connection with Ryan Godbey death