Staff photo / Ed Runyan Family members and friends of Ashley Lockhart are seen as the sentence for Steve W. Green III was announced Thursday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. They are, from left, Lockhart’s mother Kelley Jones; sister, Gina Ciccarelli; friend, Kristen McCann; grandmother, Patricia Lockhart; and friend, Katelyn Lofaro.

YOUNGSTOWN — Steve W. Green III, 27, will spend the rest of his life in prison for killing Ashley Lockhart, 25, the mother of his child, Oct. 8, 2021, in the parking lot of a Compass West apartment in Austintown.

Mahoning County Prosecutor Gina DeGenova asked Judge Anthony D’Apolito of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to give Green the most severe penalty available — life in prison without parole — for killing Lockhart by shooting her six times while blocking her car in a parking space.

In agreeing to do that, D’Apolito noted that he listened to the testimony during Green’s trial, but “I still can’t figure out why it happened. This was a senseless and selfish act.

“The harm that it caused and will cause is something that I have to consider in the punishment. To take the mother of your child from her is, I believe, the worst thing a father can do to his daughter or son.”

The judge said it is hard enough when a child loses a parent through illness or accident, “But you did that to your daughter. I don’t know if it was jealousy, I don’t know if it was control. I don’t know if it was anger. I don’t know what caused you to do this.

“I do know the effect it has had and will have on the family of the victim — I heard it today — and your daughter. She will be without her mother and she will be without her father.”

DeGenova told the judge Green’s crimes are among the “worst versions” of the offense of aggravated murder, saying Green “planned and carried out the murder of Ashley for some time. He used their former relationship and their daughter to help him carry out his plan.”

DeGenova said Green “terrorized Ashley, followed her, threatened her, abused her.” She said the judge and the jury “heard his voice and read his texts. He wanted her dead. He wanted to be the one to do it. You heard him say he wanted to see the soul leave her body.”

She said on Oct. 8, Green “chose to Ashley, threatened to kill her unless she complied with his demands. After he raped her, he chose to follow her. He knew where she was going. He chose to bring his gun with him. He chose to block Ashley’s car and wait for her to exit her apartment with her friend.

“He chose to shoot her when she called 911 while you heard her begging him to leave her alone. At any time throughout this fateful day (Green) could have made a different choice and Ashley would be here with us today,” DeGenova said.

She added Green showed no remorse when interviewed by police later the night of the killing and showed no remorse when he took the stand during the trial. “In fact, when he willingly took the stand, he used his time to fabricate a story of lies to deceive the jury.”

“What did he say? ‘She reached for my gun, and it went off and I blacked out and don’t remember anything.” DeGenova said Green “can’t remember anything during this alleged blackout, but he was aware enough to know he had to high-tail it out of Compass West because he just murdered the mother of his daughter. He was aware enough to drive to downtown Niles to dispose of the gun,” she said. He also gave law enforcement later that night “detailed instructions on where to find the gun.”

Lockhart’s grandmother, Patricia Lockhart, who raised Ashley most of Ashley’s life and now raises Ashley’s daughter, now 8, has “suffered the most” as a result of Ashley’s death.

The girl blames herself for not being there the night of her mother’s death because Green nearly killed Ashley in Patricia’s home in Youngstown during the summer of 2021, Patricia said.

The girl was there when Green threatened Ashley with a knife. “She asked him, ‘Please don’t,’ and he didn’t kill her then.” Patricia said there was another incident two weeks before he killed Ashley when the girl was staying with Green and Green “looked (the girl) in the eyes and said ‘I’m going to kill your mommy.’ She came home and told me ‘My daddy was so evil. His face was horrible.’ And two weeks later, she was gone.”

Ashley’s mother, Kelley Jones, said she communicated with Ashley frequently. “It’s very hard every day she’s not here and not coming back,” she said.

There were three lesser sentences D’Apolito could have chosen — life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20, 25 or 30 years.

A jury found Green guilty on Nov. 15 of aggravated murder with a gun specification, rape, tampering with evidence, extortion and domestic violence following a three-day trial. The jury deliberated about two hours before reaching its verdict.

Testimony indicated that Green, of Youngstown, forced Lockhart to have sex with him earlier on Oct. 8 at his father’s West Side Youngstown home, then followed her to the Austintown apartment of her friend Katelyn Lofaro and blocked Ashley’s car in its space.

Lofaro was with Lockhart at the time of the killing and testified that Lockhart came to her apartment to help her pick out shoes to wear when they went out that night.

As they left the apartment, Lockhart spotted Green’s car in the parking lot. Lockhart gave Lofaro a second cellphone Lockhart used to record calls with Green, Lofaro said. Green was blocking Lockhart’s car in its parking space and had flattened one of Lockhart’s tires, Lofaro testified at the trial.

Green had to move his car because a neighbor needed to get out. “So he circled around the parking lot and pulled back in,” again blocking Ashley’s car, Lofaro said. Words were exchanged between Lockhart and Green.

Lofaro testified that Ashley said: “You forced me to have sex with you. I did everything you said. You said you would leave me alone for the night. Why are you here? Why are you following me?” Green was “calm,” Lofaro said. Then Lockhart made a 911 call. The call was played for the jury.

Lockhart’s voice was calm as she gave a call taker the address of the apartment building where she was. Then Lockhart was heard yelling “Don’t (expletive) do it.” Then the call proceeds with screaming, gunfire, then the shrieking of a second woman.

Lofaro identified the shrieking woman as her and clarified that Lockhart was inside her car when she made the 911 call. Green was in his car when the call was made, but he got out before shooting. Lofaro was standing nearby, but when Green approached Lockhart, “he scared me, so I started … running the other way.”

Lockhart was getting out of her car as Green approached and shot her. Lofaro said she was running but looked back to see Green close to Lockhart and Lockhart on the ground. Lofaro ran behind a tree. She heard six shots. Then Green was “zooming out of my parking lot,” she said. She returned to her friend after Green left.

Text messages during the trial showed Lockhart’s reaction to Green’s demand for sex that day. She texted “‘Why would I give you the satisfaction of having sex?” Green replied, “Because it’s the satisfaction of knowing you get to live to see another day.”

Another text message revealed that Green warned Lofaro that if she and Ashley went out to a tavern that night, as was their plan, he would kill Ashley, who worked at one time as a corrections officer in Youngstown’s private Northeast Ohio Correctional Center.

Lofaro and another close friend, Nicole Van Horn, testified about a pattern of stalking and violent threats by Green. They said the police were never notified because nobody believed a restraining order would stop Green.

Retired Austintown detective Jordan Yacovone testified that Green confessed to shooting Lockhart and told police where they could find the gun, which Green attempted to discard in Niles after the shooting.

Yacovone said Van Horn contacted him the day after the shooting and provided him with screenshots of text messages Lockhart had sent, documenting the threats Green made.

Green also testified, saying his confrontation with Lockhart was over custody of their daughter and that Lockhart and Lofaro were screaming at him about slashing her tire, which he denied.

Green said he only got out of his car when he saw Lockhart making a phone call, because he wanted to know who she was calling. He denied being jealous and possessive when Assistant Prosector Rob Andrews asked him why he needed to know who she was calling.

Green testified that he shot Lockhart during a struggle over his gun, but he “blacked out” after the first shot.

Green was evaluated in 2022 to determine whether he was sane at the time he killed Lockhart. In March 2022, the defense and prosecution met in chambers to discuss the results, but court officials would not disclose what the results showed, and Green was never declared incompetent to stand trial or insane at the time of the offenses.

After the sentencing was over, Lofaro said she was glad the case was “finally ended. Now I feel like we can properly grieve. Her justice is served. I feel like you can’t truly grieve until justice is served.”

DeGenova said Green deserved the sentence he got. “His crimes took so much from so many.”