A Summit County judge today ordered a Stow man to spend life in prison for fatally stabbing his 32-year-old niece, capping a bench trial that dug into the grim events of a November 2024 killing. The sentencing unfolded in a packed courtroom, with family members watching as the judge delivered the decision.
According to Cleveland.com, John Lorkowski was sentenced in Summit County Court of Common Pleas to life in prison with a chance at parole after 15 years, following his conviction on one count of murder in the bench trial.
How the attack unfolded
Stow police were called to the 4000 block of Baird Road late on Nov. 6, 2024, where officers found 32-year-old Sharee Hutch with multiple stab wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators located Lorkowski in the home’s garage with blood on his clothing and took him to Akron General Hospital for treatment before he was booked into the Summit County Jail, according to News 5 Cleveland.
Court proceedings and evidence
The case moved to a bench trial in early July in Summit County Common Pleas Court, with Judge Joy Malek Oldfield presiding. Prosecutors brought forward witness testimony and played recordings of 911 calls, audio that reportedly sparked strong emotional reactions from relatives seated in the gallery, according to WOIO/Cleveland 19.
Relatives remembered Sharee Christine Hutch, 32, as a self-employed creative who loved photography, gaming and painting, as detailed in her obituary on Donovan Funeral Home. The obituary notes that she had lived in Stow since 2008 and lists her visitation and funeral arrangements.
Prosecutors called Hutch’s killing a “devastating loss” for her family, loved ones and the broader community. Court records and prosecutors say Hutch suffered 22 stab wounds and that Lorkowski told authorities in a 911 call, “I got so mad that I stabbed my niece,” according to Cleveland.com. The judge imposed a life sentence that, under state sentencing rules, makes Lorkowski eligible for parole after 15 years.
Agents with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation assisted Stow police in the original investigation that led to Lorkowski’s Nov. 6, 2024, arrest, and prosecutors said the sentence offers Hutch’s family some measure of closure. For earlier coverage of the scene and the arrest, see News 5 Cleveland.
