Man gets death penalty for 3 killings

The Brimfield Township man killed his girlfriend, her son and a KSU student.
RAVENNA (AP) -- A man sentenced to death Wednesday for killing his live-in girlfriend, her 7-year-old son and a college student from Canada accused the prosecutor of playing politics by not allowing him to plead guilty without a trial.
James Trimble, 45, of Brimfield Township, about 50 miles southeast of Cleveland, said that he wanted to accept the death penalty to avoid causing the relatives of the victims further emotional pain, but that Portage County Prosecutor Victor Vigluicci would not let him.
Vigluicci said the notion was absurd. "It's the first I've heard of that," Vigluicci said after Trimble was sentenced. "He could have pleaded guilty and accepted the death penalty in this case any time he wanted to do so. He is a remorseless, cold-blooded killer who has been making excuses for himself from the day he was captured."
Trimble was convicted of shooting girlfriend Renee Bauer, 42, and her son, Dakota, on Jan. 21, then going to the nearby apartment of Kent State University student Sarah Positano, 22, of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Positano was held hostage before she was shot in the neck the next morning.
A jury recommended the death penalty Nov. 8, two weeks after convicting him of three counts of aggravated murder. Portage County Judge John Enlow sentenced Trimble Wednesday to die Nov. 16, 2006, but appeals generally cause delays.
Girlfriend threatened to leave
Prosecutors said Trimble killed the three in a rampage that began because Renee Bauer threatened to leave him.
Trimble appeared calm at the sentencing, expressing his sorrow. He had previously told the jury he is aware he has caused pain that "will never be healed."
Enlow allowed statements from 11 relatives and friends of the victims.