AKRON, Ohio — Erica Stefanko, 38, was sentenced to prison for her role in the brutal murder of 25-year-old Ashley Biggs, a Domino's pizza employee, back in 2012, according to the Summit County Prosecutor's Office.
On June 20, 2012, Stefanko lured Biggs to an empty parking lot of a closed business in New Franklin by ordering pizza from Domino's to the address.
As Biggs was delivering the pizza, Stefanko's husband and Biggs' former boyfriend Chad Cobb attacked her, subduing her with a taser and then beating and strangling her to death.
Stefanko followed Cobb as he drove Biggs' body to an empty field in Chippewa Township in Wayne County and then took him home to wash off the evidence of the crime, authorities said.
According to authorities, Cobb and Biggs were going through a contentious custody battle over their 7-year-old daughter.
On Tuesday, Summit County Court of Common Pleas Judge Amy Corrigall sentenced Stefanko to 30 years to life in prison after being found guilty of one count of aggravated murder and one count of murder in November.
“Erica Stefanko eluded justice for more than nine years. In this case, justice delayed is not justice denied,” said Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh in a press release. “I am proud of the perseverance of investigators and my assistant prosecutors who would not stop fighting for Ashley Biggs and her family. Just over nine years after Ashley was murdered, Erica Stefanko is being held accountable for what she did.”
In February of 2013, Cobb pleaded guilty to the following charges:
- One Count of Aggravated Murder – a felony of the 1st degree
- One Count of Kidnapping – a felony of the 1st degree
- One Count of Aggravated Robbery – a felony of the 1st degree
- One Count of Felonious Assault – a felony of the 2nd degree
- One Count of Retaliation – a felony of the 3rd degree
- One Count of Tampering with Evidence – a felony of the 3rd degree
- One Count of Gross Abuse of a Corpse – a felony of the 3rd degree
- One Count of Possessing Criminal Tools – a felony of the 5th degree
- Domestic Violence – a misdemeanor of the 1st degree
He is serving a life sentence and is not eligible for parole.
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