LISBON – Joseph Boyer got his wish for a jury trial to tell his side of the story about a 2022 knife attack against his ex-girlfriend, but jurors found him guilty Tuesday and he’s headed back to prison for eight to 12 years.

“His explanation of what happened was rejected by the jury and frankly, it didn’t make sense to me.” Columbiana County Common Pleas Court Judge Scott Washam before sentencing the 52-year-old former East Liverpool resident.

Washam ordered Boyer to eight to 12 years in prison for felonious assault, a second-degree felony, and 18 months for domestic violence, a fourth-degree felony, but to run concurrently. He received credit for 785 days already served since his arrest on July 7, 2022, the day of the East Liverpool attack. The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction could decide to add up to four years on top of the eight years.

Deputy County Attorney Tammie Riley Jones, who prosecuted the case with Assistant County Attorney Steve Yacovone, recommended consecutive sentences of eight to 12 years for felonious assault and one year for domestic violence, for a total of a minimum of nine years. same recommendation and same recommendation. the sentence he first received in April 2023, before his conviction was overturned by the 7th District Court of Appeals and the case returned to the county. He initially pleaded guilty to both charges before filing a motion to withdraw before being sentenced the first time. The judge denied the motion to withdraw the plea, which the appeals court found to be error.

A jury of 11 men and one woman returned a guilty verdict on both charges and further found that he had a previous conviction for domestic violence. The decision came just an hour after jurors received the case in a trial that began Monday morning.

“I think the jury reached the right verdict. Obviously, we are very happy that the victim has finally received justice.” Yacovone said after the sentencing.

Jones called the attack brutal, resulting in serious injuries to the victim’s neck and wrist, requiring surgery to repair wrist tendons and therapy. She said there was nothing to suggest the crime was instigated by the victim. She also said Boyer showed no remorse for his conduct, blaming virtually everyone but himself.

The victim, who testified and was present for the verdict and sentencing, chose not to address the court, but Jones indicated she was comfortable knowing Boyer could not harm her or anyone else.

“He obviously faced a lot of problems when this happened,” defense attorney T. Robert Bricker said of his client.

Bricker suggested it might be more productive to grant him probation so he could work on his issues rather than prison.

“I’m very sorry for what I did” Boyer said, claiming he asked the victim’s forgiveness hundreds of times. “That’s between me and her and God.”

He said he hoped God would be able to forgive him and that one day she would be able to forgive him.

During a rambling account of their relationship and what he claimed happened on July 7, 2022, Boyer talked about how he and the victim met and divorced his wife to be with her. Eventually they lived together and were both alcoholics and drinking all the time. He admitted he wasn’t supposed to be at the Ogden Street, East Liverpool residence where they lived because of a no-contact order issued when he was convicted of domestic violence against her a month earlier.

He claimed he was intoxicated when he returned home on July 7, 2022, after spending the night across the street due to an argument with the victim. He claimed he woke her up in the bedroom, they had sex and she went to the bathroom and he went out to the living room where her roommate was and she claimed the victim was cheating on him with another man. The victim then came out and asked why he would say that when he knows what he’s like.

He said there was a lot of shouting, he called her a whore, then he said she got a knife and he tried to get it off her, claiming she was struggling for the knife and he was on top of her and claimed that he took the butcher knife from her and looked down and saw that she was cut. Then he said he reached for the other knife and “I hit her with that butcher knife. I hit his hand.”

He said Edward Gregory, the man she claimed she cheated on, was already on his way and told her to get out and take her to the hospital.

The victim’s testimony the day before was quite different, but consistent with what she said from the beginning. She was sleeping on the sofa when he came in and started arguing with her, pulled her hair and then went into the kitchen and grabbed a knife, slashing her throat several times and slitting her wrist the hand. She thought she was going to die.

Throughout his testimony, Boyer continued to say how much he loved her and claimed he had blood on his clothes from when he hugged her before leaving. He also had what Jones called an apology during his testimony to try to counter other witness testimony earlier in the day about a jailhouse call he made to the victim on July 22, 2022, and what he told her to a corrections officer at the jail on July 8. , 2022.

Jennifer Tedrow, an investigator with the County Attorney’s Office, testified that she reviewed the jailhouse call, which was then played for the jury. In the call between Boyer and the victim, he said he didn’t think he did that to her and didn’t know why he would pick up that knife. The victim can be heard asking him why two of her knives were in his truck and he said the only two knives he had were in her living room where the attack took place.

Tedrow said according to jailhouse call records, Boyer tried to call the victim nearly 2,000 times since the attack, and only about 200 of the calls were answered. The last call was just last week. She reviewed more than 100 calls and Boyer talked the victim into coming to court.

“The defendant did not want the victim to come to court” she said.

Former county jail corrections officer Marisha Heaven testified that when she was escorting Boyer into the courtroom on July 8, 2022, she asked him why he turned around. He knew him because he was in prison before.

“He said his girlfriend cheated on him and cut his throat” Heaven said.

She thought he was joking and even asked if it was a joke and he said no. She did not know why he was there at the time and noted that normally two officers would have been escorted in that case. At the time, one of the charges against him was attempted murder, but it was later dropped due to legal issues. She said he later threatened to kill her.

The state rested its case at 9:17 a.m. after Cerulo’s testimony. Boyer was the only witness for the defense and claimed he was trashed at the jail after his arrest and heard other officers say he cut his old lady’s throat and only repeated what they said when he made the statement to Heaven. He claimed he never threatened to kill anyone, including the victim, Gregory, Heaven and anyone else who claimed he did.

“I’m sorry I took any knives.” he said.

“It was absolutely the heat of the moment. I never wanted that girl to get hurt.” he said of the victim, adding “I will love her until the day I take my last breath.”

During closing arguments, Yacovone went through both charges, explaining how all elements of each had been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. He said the defendant’s version of events did not make sense and asked jurors to remember the demeanor of both the victim and the defendant when they testified.

Bricker argued that his client was being truthful and asked jurors to consider inconsistencies in the victim’s testimony. He said the evidence did not show this was a malicious attack. Jones disagreed, saying it was a vicious and brutal attack and the defendant said what he did. The injuries were not accidental.

Washam advised Boyer of his right to appeal the conviction.