Man who killed girlfriend to be executed

COLUMBUS (AP) — The Ohio Supreme Court has set an October execution date for a condemned killer who beat his girlfriend with a pipe, threw her in a river and stole $400 from her bank account.

The court ruled Friday to schedule the execution of 48-year-old Michael Benge of Butler County for Oct. 6.

Benge was sentenced to death for the 1993 killing of his girlfriend, Judith Gabbard, on the west side of the Miami River in Hamilton in southwest Ohio.

Benge beat Gabbard with a metal pipe several times during an argument, threw her body into the river and then used Gabbard’s ATM card to withdraw $400 from her bank account.

The court has scheduled one execution per month through October, putting Ohio on pace to execute a record number of inmates this year.

Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.