Convicted Ohio killer facing death sentence claims remorse

HAMILTON, Ohio (AP) – A Kentucky man has taken the stand to express his remorse before jurors decide whether to recommend his execution for killing an 87-year-old southwest Ohio woman and leaving her body in the trunk of her car.

Fifty-seven-year-old Daniel French of Berea, Kentucky, told the Butler County courtroom Thursday that he had “destroyed a life” and was filled with great remorse and sorrow. He said he became “a monster” who caused great pain and suffering.

Jurors who last week convicted French of aggravated murder will make a recommendation to the judge on his sentence for Barbara Howe’s 2012 slaying in her Monroe retirement community home. The defense insisted French had no plan to kill her.

French’s brother testified Wednesday about them being beaten by their father as children.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press.