AKRON, Ohio — A 26-year-old woman was sentenced Monday afternoon after pleading guilty to charges in connection with the death of Paige Calich in Akron last year.
The defendant, Corvette Pope, pleaded guilty in May 2024 to charges of involuntary manslaughter and obstruction of justice. Judge Christine Croce sentenced Pope to 5 to 7.5 years in prison.
Watch the sentencing:
Calich was killed last summer in front of her two children— her 3-year-old son and her 7-year-old daughter.
"I cannot begin to explain what it's like to look into the eyes of a child who has just watched their mother die," Calich's aunt, Pamela Murray, said while reading a statement on behalf of Calich's sister.
Prosecutors said that Pope got into an argument with Calich at her apartment complex on July 28, and two hours later, Pope returned with her brother, Denzel.
Calich followed her young son onto her porch, just before Denzel used a shotgun to kill her, investigators said.
When Akron police officers arrived at her home on Socrates Place, they found her down near a doorway. She had been shot multiple times. She was taken to a nearby hospital, where she later died.
Shortly after Calich was killed, Pope was taken into custody.
During Monday's sentencing, Pope apologized to the court for her actions.
"I'm so truly sorry to her family and friends and her children for my actions and also for my brother's actions," Pope said.
In turn, Judge Croce had harsh words for Pope before sentencing her.
"You are not an innocent actor. You are not the savior of the state's case," Croce said. "And if this is how people in their 20s handle controversy, our society is doomed."
In the statement read by Murray, it was pointed out that Calich's sister is now raising the two children.
"Her life ended violently and senselessly right in front of the two people she loved more than anything in the world, her two babies," Murray said.
Watch more about the investigation below:
Family and friends remembered Calich as funny, smart and kind. Her death has left them heartbroken.
"It's really not fair that she's not here to be with us anymore and continue to be here with her kids and keep making memories with us," Calich's friend, Jamyrah Tomlin, said.
Loved ones said Calich should still be here, laughing with and protecting her kids, but instead, they are forced to grow up barely knowing their mother.
"This kind of pain does not end with a funeral. It follows us every day, every birthday, every holiday, every milestone in the children's lives, and they will be missing their mother," Murray said.
Last week, Denzel was found guilty of two counts of murder, two counts of felonious assault and one count of having weapons under disability for his role in Calich's death.
Denzel Pope is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday. Corvette Pope agreed to testify against her brother during his murder trial.
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