Jeffrey Scullin Jr, [left] was arrested for the murder of his fiancée’s mother, Melinda Pleskovic [right], after cops found a tactical knife with the victim’s blood on the blade and his own DNA on the handle inside his vehicle 

An Ohio man charged with shooting and stabbing his fiancée’s mother to death, Wednesday pled no contest to all charges on the first day of his trial.

Jeffrey Scullin allegedly stabbed and shot Melinda Pleskovic inside her Strongsville home on the night of October 23, 2017, then joined the victim’s unsuspecting husband for dinner at an Applebee’s, where his future bride worked as a waitress.
Scullin later called 911 to report finding Pleskovic lying dead in a pool of blood and even acted as a pallbearer at her funeral, three days before he was arrested for her murder.
Police later arrested  Scullin Jr, 20, for the murder of his future mother-in-law, 49-year-old Melinda Pleskovic, after finding a tactical knife with the victim’s blood on the blade and his own DNA on the handle inside a truck he had been driving.

A plea of no contest is technically not an admission of guilt, but the judge finds the defendant guilty as charged and sentences them accordingly.
He was indicted on charges of aggravated murder, murder, felonious assault, tampering with evidence, making false alarms and endangering children in connection with the death of Melinda Pleskovic.
His sentencing is scheduled for October 29.
Pleskovic’s family was not present, but Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley said the family was appraised on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning that Scullin may enter a plea.
‘The nature of this crime was such that putting forth these facts in court was going to be very difficult for this family, and so certainly I think it’s some relief to the family that this thing was brought to closure today and that Mr. Scullin has accepted responsibility for the brutal act that he had committed,’ O’Malley said.

Scullin’s lawyer Joseph Patituce informed the court that his client’s decision to plead no contest was also motivated by the family’s reaction to gruesome evidence discussed during the suppression hearing.
‘He saw the pain that the family was suffering and despite how he might be portrayed, he’s not a cold-blooded killer,’ Patituce said.
Details of the case and charges laid against Scullin were previously revealed by Fox8.
He added that his client has legitimate defenses challenging DNA evidence and evidence collection by police.
Police were able to identify Scullin as a suspect after searching a 2002 Chevy pickup truck that he had been driving and recovering a large tactical knife with blood on the blade.
The weapon was hidden beneath various items on the backseat, according to the records.

More blood was found on the inside door handle of the passenger seat, which matched the murder victim, and Scullin’s own DNA was found on the handle of the knife leading to his arrest on Tuesday.
According to a narrative presented by police, Scullin killed his future mother-in-law, with whom had a history of disputes, then met his future father-in-law Bruce Pleskovic and his wife-to-be Anna for dinner at the at the Southpark Mall Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill and Bar restaurant.
Scullin, who had been living with Pleskovic’s family, was breathing heavily when he told a 911 dispatcher that he and the victim’s husband Bruce had found her on the kitchen floor with blood all around.