Suspect gets life sentence in slaying of elderly Ohio couple

COSHOCTON, Ohio (AP) — A man charged with robbing, killing and burning the bodies of an elderly Ohio couple has pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and other charges and has been sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Thirty-year-old Robert Clark’s sentencing today in Coshocton County means he won’t face the death penalty for killing 88-year-old Doyle Chumney and 79-year-old Lillian Chumney of Strasburg.

Authorities say Clark and 21-year-old Jeffery Stewart broke into the couple’s home in January, bound them with duct tape and then drove the couple to a rural road in Coshocton County where Clark shot them.

Stewart told investigators that Lillian Chumney was still alive when the couple’s car was torched. Stewart has pleaded not guilty to murder, kidnapping and other charges.