Tipsheet

LeBron James Silent After Arrests Made in Murder of Teen at His Akron School

Leah Barkoukis
Leah Barkoukis  |  June 14, 2022 7:00 AM

Three men have been arrested in the murder of 17-year-old Ethan Liming outside of a school founded by LeBron James earlier this month. 

The teen was fatally beaten after a fight broke out when Liming and his friends were “joy riding in a car” and shot a toy Splatrball Water Bead Blaster at people on the basketball court of the I Promise high school.

Authorities arrested suspects Deshawn Stafford Jr., 20, Tyler Stafford, 19, and Donovon Jones, 21 in connection to the homicide.

While authorities deny there was a racial component to the beating, the teen’s father argued otherwise. 

"My son Ethan Liming was murdered by three African American males and a female who stood by and did nothing," Bill Liming said.

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"We live in a sick world. People look at each other based on the color of skin or the fact somebody disagrees with somebody else. And because you disagree with me you must be evil," he added. "And we have so dehumanized each other in our society, that's why my son was murdered. Some people looked at him as somebody whose life didn't matter. And it just breaks our hearts. And we don't want this to happen to anybody else's child."

Liming also described that two of the friends his son was with are black and that they were chased away from helping him.

Liming said that contrary to what is being said about them, Ethan's friends stayed and did what they could to help him after he was assaulted.

"It's been said that they abandoned Ethan and it's not true," Bill Liming said. "They did everything they possibly could to help Ethan. They called 911 to get help. And when Ethan was knocked out on the ground, his two African-American friends tried to pick up his body and put them in the car, to help save his life. He was still alive at that point. He was still breathing."

Bill Liming said the group that assaulted their son "didn't like that," and forced Ethan's friend's away, physically assaulting another child there.

"His friends tried to help him and they drove them away eventually — not before calling 911. They called, they tried to get help for him," Liming said. "And when they couldn't catch the one child that ran across a parking lot, they came back and finished my son off."

"They, as I said, they called for help for my son, but the help did not arrive in time, and they did the best they could to help him when they were there, and it's just — my heart's broken." (News 5 Cleveland)

James and the LeBron James Family Foundation commented on the death immediately after the incident but have been quiet since the arrests have been made.