Man gets life for strangling his sister-in-law’s mother

An Athens County man who was convicted of strangling his sisterinlaw’s mother was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without parole.

Athens County Common Pleas Judge Patrick J. Lang also sentenced William D. Blair, 55, of the New Marshfield area, to eight years for burglary.

A jury convicted Blair Monday of aggravated murder and burglary in the strangulation of Mary Robinson, 71, of Chauncey, on June 16, 2017.

Blair killed her while burglarizing the Chauncey home of his brother and sister- in- law, George and Tammie Blair, while they were on vacation in California. Blair was in the middle of stealing an ounce of high-grade, Coloradosourced marijuana that he had sold to his brother, as well as opioid painkiller pills legally prescribed to his brother after knee surgery, when Robinson surprised him by showing up to check on the couple’s cats, Athens County Prosecutor Keller J. Blackburn said Thursday.

Blair used his hands and Robinson’s purse strap to strangle her.

Afterward, he went on to steal two television sets, $ 800 in cash, jewelry, a laptop and other items from the home, Blackburn said.

What makes the crime particularly sad and senseless, the prosecutor said, is that George and Tammie Blair had taken William Blair in after he was released from state prison in 2009.

He had served time for convictions of breaking and entering and receiving stolen property, and they were helping him get back on his feet.

He lived with them for almost two years, and his sister- in- law helped him complete paperwork to qualify for and start drawing Social Security disability benefits, Blackburn said.

“They saved him, and then he did this to them,” Blackburn said.