PIB homicide accomplice pleads guilty

Sara Partlo, of Rocky River, pleaded guilty to two counts of obstructing justice in Ottawa County Common Pleas Court Thursday, assistant prosecutor Andy Bigler said.Each charge is punishable by up to six months in jail. Sentencing was set for Jan. 13.Partlo was accused of helping Zachary Brody, 29, formerly of Bowling Green, by giving Brody a ride from the ferry dock when he left the island the morning after Phil Masterson, 25, of Cleveland, was killed.She also was accused of helping Brody return to the island later in the day on Sept. 5, 2011, and helping move Masterson's body farther into the woods, where Brody had dragged it after killing Masterson outside an Island Club cabin.Brody is serving 16 years in prison after pleading guilty in 2012 to involuntary manslaughter and two counts of tampering with evidence.A third defendant, Cameron Parris, 28, of Aurora, is still fighting felony charges that he, too, helped Brody.Parris was with Brody the night of the homicide, and allegedly helped him to clean up the scene where the two had fought to the death. Parris allegedly washed Masterson's blood off the deck of the cabin where they'd been staying and threw away Masterson's bloodied shirt and his wallet.Masterson and Brody had never met until the night before Masterson died.In court hearings, Brody claimed he fought in self defense.