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Jacob Wilson was sentenced Monday for the murder of two men in 2021 in Monroe County.
Wilson, 40, shot 24-year-old Daniel E. Franzoi of Beallsville and 20-year-old Malakai Devon Curry of Caldwell, Ohio, to death the night of Oct. 30, 2021, outside the Wilson farm just off of Ohio 26 on Wilson Lane in Woodsfield. He heard his sentence Monday from Monroe County Common Pleas Judge Julie Selmon, who imposed a prison term of 30 years to life.
According to prior reports, Wilson's daughter was dating one of the victims and his sister was dating the other victim, but his motive for the killings has not been definitely pinned down.
"We had originally charged Mr. Wilson with two counts of aggravated murder, which would have required some evidence of premeditation or prior calculation or design," Monroe County Prosecutor James Peters said. "Unfortunately the case never really had a whole lot of evidence of motive, although we had a little bit of evidence regarding some plan. ... It really was not enough to derail a possible plea, so we did accept a plea to murder rather than aggravated murder. That offense still requires 15 years to life for each count, so those were run consecutive for 30 years to life, so we essentially believe this will be a life sentence for Mr. Wilson."
Peters noted Wilson won't be eligible for parole until he's 70 years old, and he believes it's unlikely he would be granted parole at that time.
"After much discussion with families of the victims, we all agreed that was the best resolution at this time rather than run any risk of trial," he said.
He added his best wishes to the families involved.
"It was definitely an emotional case. Without a motive it was kind of hard to give them the answers that they wanted. We'll never be able to tell them why this happened," Peters said.
Wilson's defense attorney, Steven Stickles, was contacted but did not give a statement.