Ohio Supreme Court upholds killer's death sentence

COLUMBUS (AP) — The Ohio Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence of a man convicted of shooting his ex-girlfriend four days after she testified that he beat her so badly she was hospitalized.

The court rejected an argument by attorneys for condemned killer Charles Maxwell that autopsy results of the victim were improperly allowed as evidence because a different medical examiner testified about them than the one who conducted the autopsy.

The court’s 5-2 decision today also upheld the conviction of the 47-year-old Maxwell for the 2005 shooting death of Nichole McCorkle in Cleveland.

The Ohio Attorney General’s Office says Maxwell shot the 36-year-old McCorkle twice in retaliation for grand jury testimony against him.

Records show Maxwell shot McCorkle as the couple’s 3-year-old daughter watched.