AKRON, Ohio (AP) — A man convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend's parents with a sledgehammer 10 days after stabbing their daughter was sentenced Monday to death.
Shawn Ford Jr., 20, was convicted in October by a jury in Summit County Common Pleas Court of aggravated murder and other charges in the April 2013 slayings of Margaret and Jeffrey Schobert. That same jury recommended that he receive the death penalty for killing Margaret Schobert, and the judge agreed.
Ford, wearing an orange jail jumpsuit, his wrists bound with handcuffs, said before sentencing that he'd been "selfish" and "stupid."
"I want to say sorry to the whole Schobert family, sorry to my family, sorry to everybody I let down," he said.
Defense attorneys unsuccessfully argued that Ford's low IQ prevented Judge Tom Parker from sentencing their client to death.
Authorities said Jeffrey Schobert, a prominent attorney, was killed inside the couple's home in the Akron suburb of New Franklin. Ford and an accomplice who was 14 at the time sent text messages to Margaret Schobert to lure her home from a hospital where she'd been spending the night with her daughter.
Prosecutors said Ford was angry with the Schoberts because they wouldn't let him visit their daughter, Chelsea, at the hospital. Ford was accused of stabbing and critically injuring Chelsea Schobert 10 days earlier for refusing him sex at a party.
Chelsea Schobert, 20, testified at Ford's trial that after her life spiraled out of control after her parents' death. She said she used inheritance money to buy cocaine to sell with her new boyfriend. She was caught, convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced in June 2014 to 30 months in prison. She was granted an early release in May.
Ford's accomplice, Jamall Vaughn, who is now 16, pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and aggravated robbery charges in February. He is scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday.
Death penalty cases in Ohio are automatically appealed to the state Supreme Court.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
