LISBON — A former Columbiana man in prison for at least 39 years for attempting to kill a woman with a baseball bat and then setting her home on fire last year will face a new hearing at 1 p.m. Aug. 28 for a separate case of menacing and attempted intimidation.

Frederick L. Harroff, 66, was scheduled for a status hearing Monday in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court before Judge Megan Bickerton, but instead, a new hearing was set for the case and the jury trial that was set for next week was canceled. Harroff did not make the trip from prison for the status session, with nothing held on the record.

Harroff was represented by defense attorney T. Robert Bricker, with the state represented by county Assistant Prosecutor Alec Beech.

Charges in the current case include menacing by stalking and attempted intimidation of an attorney, victim or witness in a criminal case, both fourth-degree felonies, for allegedly engaging in a pattern of conduct causing another to believe he would cause them harm from Sept. 3, 2025 to Dec. 4, 2025. The attempted intimidation stems from an attempt of alleged intimidation on Dec. 4, 2025.

In the motion to revoke bond in the previous case, which included a charge of attempted murder, Beech cited multiple dates when the defendant, while in jail, wrote to the victim starting Sept. 4, 2025. The addressee and return address were altered, but the contents clearly indicated the letter was from the defendant and intended for the victim. The jail personnel started monitoring his mail in an effort to prevent future contacts with the victim. A second letter was sent to the victim on Sept. 12, 2025. On Dec. 5, 2025, the prosecution was notified that jail staff seized two additional letters before they left the jail.

Harroff entered a guilty plea in March to first-degree felonies of attempted murder, aggravated arson and kidnapping, second-degree felonies of aggravated arson and felonious assault and fourth-degree felony strangulation for the attack which happened on June 2, 2025 when he repeatedly struck the woman with a heavy wooden baseball bat over her head and body while she was laying in bed, tried to choke her, detain her and then set the fire.

Columbiana County Common Pleas Court Judge Scott Washam sentenced Harroff to at least 39 years in prison, with a possible maximum sentence of 44 1/2 years in prison if the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections decides to keep him longer.

Harroff has since filed a notice of appeal in the Seventh District Court of Appeals which remains pending over the attempted murder case.