Ronald Dean Combs was sentenced to at least 63 years in prison Friday for shooting to death his girlfriend and her mother.

        The victims' family wants him to spend every day of his sentence thinking about his crime.

        “He's going to have a long time to think about what he's done,” said Patricia Howard, whose sister and niece were killed by Mr. Combs in 1987.

Combs

        The sentence Friday in Common Pleas Court ended a case that began when Mr. Combs hunted down and killed his girlfriend, Marguerite “Peggy” Schoonover and her mother, Joan Schoonover.

        Both women were killed by shotgun blasts as they sat in a car in a Queensgate parking lot on June 15, 1987.

        Mr. Combs was convicted of aggravated murder in 1988 and sentenced to death. But his conviction was overturned last year when an appeals court ruled that his lawyer made many mistakes during the trial.

        Prosecutors filed new charges against Mr. Combs, but the victims' family urged them to make a plea deal so they could avoid the trauma of another trial and another long wait for his execution.

        “We really kind of put this in (the family's) hands, and they agreed they did not want to repeat this process,” said Assistant Prosecutor Mark Piepmeier.

        As part of the deal, Mr. Combs agreed to put his fate in the hands of a three-judge panel instead of a jury. The judges — Thomas Crush, Melba Marsh and John West — found Mr. Combs guilty and sentenced him to 63 years.

        With credit for time served, he will be eligible for parole at age 93.

        If Mr. Combs is still alive, Ms. Howard said, someone from the victims' family will be there to argue against setting him free.

        “We want to make sure he stays where he belongs,” Ms. Howard said. “He took the lives of two very special people.”

        Mr. Combs apologized to the family in court Friday, saying he regretted the shootings. “I am indeed truly sorry for the pain and grief I have caused you,” he said. “I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.”

        Some relatives said forgiveness is not likely anytime soon.

        “My sister and my niece are no longer drawing breath,” said John Hill. “This man will. And this is not justice.”

City's oldest black church honors 3 who nurtured it
Ohio leading tobacco fight
Gas station pumps Ludlow's spirits
Spinney Field proposal sacked
DARE dares to alter formula
SAMPLES: Rude and crude
Friend testifies about breakup
Man gets at least 63 years in killings
Soldier's patience rewarded: Medal came after 33 years
Criminal checks now mandatory
School drug charges filed, raised
Sister Cookie to lead the way
HOWARD: Neighborhoods
MCNUTT: Arts festival
Bill would add violent felons to DNA database
Blandford still says conviction was unfair
Check-cashing bill reconsidered
Different fates may await bills
Experts: Reporting bullies the only way to end abuse
Fairfield school levy looms
Former GM worker says he lied
Group seeks tribe label
Health agency names interim chief
Hospitals win OK to open beds for flu
House passes tuition help for foster kids
Maineville police chief sues to keep force intact
Man dies in Hamilton shooting
Meeting sought over OxyContin
Men scarce on campus; recruitment considered
New boss at health department
Shirey interviews for job in Texas
State takes action to redirect agriculture
Vendors want Wallace's Bookstores to pay
Kentucky News Briefs
Tristate A.M. Report