Ohio man sentenced to death for sledgehammer killings

AKRON, Ohio - An Ohio man convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend's parents with a sledgehammer has been sentenced to death.

A Summit County jury convicted Shawn Ford Jr., 20, in October 2014 of aggravated murder and other charges in the April 2013 beating deaths of Margaret and Jeffrey Schobert, of New Franklin, Ohio.

Jurors had recommended the death penalty for the killing of Margaret Schobert. Defense attorneys had unsuccessfully argued that Ford's low IQ prevented him from receiving the death penalty.

Prosecutors said Ford was angry because the Schoberts wouldn't let him visit their daughter at the hospital. Ford had stabbed and critically injured her 10 days earlier for refusing him sex at a party.

Before the sentence was announced, Ford apologized to the Schobert family and said he'd been "selfish" and "stupid."

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