- Lee Greenwalt was sentenced for killing Leah Zweidinger on New Year's Day.
- Zweidinger had a hard life but put one foot in front of another to keep going, her friend Tiffany Witmer said Wednesday.
- Judge Chryssa Hartnett sentenced Greenwalt to life in prison with parole eligibility after 15 years.
CANTON ‒ Leah C. Zweidinger had a hard life but put one foot in front of another to keep going, her friend Tiffany Witmer told a judge on Wednesday.
The 48-year-old Akron woman had finally achieved her dream: Having her own home where she lived with her son, Witmer said during the court proceeding in which Zweidinger's killer admitted guilt and was sent to prison.
"She didn't even get two years in that new home of her dream," Witmer said.
Zweidinger's life ended Jan. 1 at the Perry Township home of Lee R. Greenwalt, who stabbed his girlfriend repeatedly for reasons that were not made clear at his plea hearing and sentencing before Stark County Common Pleas Judge Chryssa N. Hartnett.
The judge sentenced the 47-year-old Greenwalt to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years on charges of murder and felonious assault after he pleaded guilty to the offenses. The sentence is the only one allowed under state law, Hartnett said.
At the prosecutor's request, Hartnett dismissed charges of assault, resisting arrest and one murder charge.
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Defense attorney Herbert Morello said the incident was "something completely out of context" with everything Greenwalt has done in his life. He said he is not sure Greenwalt understands what happened.
Morello withdrew a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, which had previously been entered on Greenwalt's behalf. A report about his mental state at the time of the crime is a sealed part of the court's record.
Given the chance to speak on his own behalf, Greenwalt said he would bring back Zweidinger if he could. He said it was hard.
The judge said she didn't believe Greenwalt could imagine how hard it was for those on the other side of the courtroom. They included Zweidinger's friends, family and Perry Township police detectives who investigated the case.
Hartnett said Greenwalt's plea eliminated the need for a trial at which an "excruciating" video would have been shown. The judge, who did not specify the source of the video or what it showed, said she may never have seen anything as disturbing in all her years in the criminal justice system.
Perry Township Police Chief Bryan D. Taylor has said officers found Zweidinger lying in the front yard of Greenwalt's home, unresponsive.
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Hartnett said all murders are senseless, but Zweidinger's was particularly so.
Assistant Stark County Prosecutor Megan E. Starrett called Zweidinger's murder an "absolutely brutal and senseless act."
Witmer said Zweidinger, who had been her friend since before she was 10 years old, was a pacifist who had never put her hands on anyone.
She said Zweidinger's character was beyond what she will ever find in a friend.
"She always took care of everyone else before herself," Witmer said. "She was good to her family. She was good to her friends. You could tell her anything and she wouldn't tell anybody else."
Witmer said she will oppose parole for Greenwalt when he is eligible.
"I will be there to make sure you don't get out," she said.
Greenwalt would spend 18 months to three years on parole if released. He would be required to register his address in a state database of violent offenders.
Reach Nancy at 330-580-8382 or nancy.molnar@cantonrep.com. On X, formerly known as Twitter: @nmolnarTR.
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