George Brinkman murders

Victims Suzanne Taylor was from Parma Heights, Ohio. She graduated from Valley Forge High School in 1990 and went on to attend Hiram College where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology, sociology, and political science. She worked as an administrator at REO Property Consultants, starting in 2012, and as a real estate appraiser for Forsythe Appraisals, starting in 2013. Suzanne lived in the Cleveland suburb of North Royalton, Ohio, with her two daughters, Kylie Pifer, 18, and Taylor Pifer, 21. Taylor Pifer was a 2014 graduate of North Royalton High School and had just completed her junior year at Kent State University. She played softball while in high school and worked at the Kent State Fashion Management Store while in college. Kylie Pifer was set to begin her sophomore year at Bowling Green State University in the fall of 2017. She was involved in theater and studied biology, Rogell E. “Gene” John II (born 1945) was a graduate of East Canton High School and Bowling Green State University. He was also a Vietnam War veteran. Mr. John worked in the circulation department of The Canton Repository and was the circulation director at The Massillon Independent and GateHouse Ohio. He then started his own business distributing telephone books and publications. She also worked for the Alliance and Louisville school districts. Perpetrator George Brinkman (born 1972) knew all of his victims well. He went to elementary school with Suzanne Taylor and remained friends with her through adulthood. Neighbors of Taylor and the Pifer sisters say that Brinkman often visited their home. Brinkman knew the John couple for more than ten years. He formerly dated Gene John's daughter and lived with her for several years. Brinkman had previously worked as a phone book delivery person for Gene John's business. He had also worked making furniture out of his garage and as a mechanic. ==Murders==

North Royalton murders On June 10, 2017, Brinkman held Suzanne and her daughters captive inside their home. After Mr. John questioned him about the gun Brinkman says he ordered the couple to an upstairs bedroom. Prosecutors would later argue that Brinkman chose that specific bedroom because it was farthest away from the neighbors. The Johns locked the door, so Brinkman shot at the doorknob to enter the room. He shot Mr. John three times and struck Mrs. John in the head with the gun, fracturing her skull. He also shot Mrs. John twice. Brinkman then stole $40 from Mr. John's wallet and $100 from Mrs. John's purse so that he could flee the state. ==Investigation and arrest==

On June 12, 2017, Taylor Pifer's boyfriend became worried when he couldn't reach her on her phone. He went to her house, where he noticed that Suzanne Taylor's bedroom door, which was always open, was shut. Upon opening the bedroom door, he found the three deceased women in the bed under a blanket. The police were called After finding the women's bodies, Pifer's boyfriend called Brinkman to inform him. He reported that Brinkman seemed surprised and genuinely sad upon hearing about the deaths. Family and friends of Taylor and the Pifers and police later found Taylor's hair around the house. This led investigators to believe Brinkman cut off Taylor's hair before killing her. After committing the murders, Brinkman went to the home of a woman he knew in Brunswick, Ohio. He started a police standoff, during which he spoke on Facebook to a TV reporter about the murders. When taken into custody, Brinkman was in possession of evidence linking him to the murders of the Johns. ==Criminal proceedings==

Criminal proceedings regarding the North Royalton murders On November 5, 2018, Brinkman pleaded guilty to the North Royalton murders. He also waived his right to a jury. Judges Peter Corrigan, Michael Shaughnessy, and Timothy McCormick Though Brinkman's defense attorneys offered for him to plead guilty in exchange for a sentence of life without parole, District Attorney Michael O’Malley and his office refused to drop their pursuit of the death penalty. Brinkman's attorneys argued that he should be sentenced to life without parole due to the mitigating factors. Mr. Pifer also said: “The rhetoric used by the defense in the entire second half of these proceedings was meant to diminish the impact of the crimes, referring to them as ‘a situation, an event, an incident.' That is not accepting responsibility for what you have done. The reality is that George Brinkman Jr. took from all three of them the very right to breathe when he carried out his plan last June, when he brutally murdered Taylor, Kylie, and Suzanne. When he bound them, murdering them one by one, he didn’t show any mercy. Yet he has the audacity to ask this court, you, for mercy on him. They (the victims) didn't deserve this. That's why I am asking you to be the three voices for the three lost. I’m asking you to remember all the testimony that you heard and all the rights Mr. Brinkman ripped from them, from all of us." In addition to his death sentence, Brinkman was sentenced to forty-seven years in prison. A trial date was set for January 11, 2023. On May 31, 2023, George Brinkman was sentenced to death. Criminal proceedings regarding the Lake Township murders In October 2019, Brinkman pleaded guilty to the aggravated murder of the John couple. Incarceration status Brinkman is currently on death row at the Ross Correctional Institution in Chillicothe, Ohio. On September 27, 2022, the Supreme Court of Ohio scheduled Brinkman's execution for September 23, 2026. ==See also==