LEBANON, Ohio — A 78-year-old man was sentenced to 18 years to life in prison after officials said he shot and killed a woman in Deerfield Township last September.
Gerald Olin Finley drove to Deerfield Township Fire Station 57 on Sept. 7, directing medical personnel to his car, where they found 79-year-old Emilia Vinokur with two gunshot wounds to the head. Vinokur was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Warren County Prosecutor's office said Finley told officers he shot Vinokur, described as his companion, inside the car as a mercy killing he had been contemplating for about a week. However, Prosecutor David P. Fornshell said Finley could never specify any illness or medical condition Vinokur had.
A medical examination and autopsy, Fornshell said, confirmed no evidence of a terminal condition.
"Unfortunately, there’s just no logical explanation for Finley’s actions," Fornshell said in a release. "Just a sad and senseless killing."
Finley pleaded guilty to murder with an accompanying firearm specification and was sentenced to 18 years up to life in prison for the crime.
