07 January 2019 :

A panel of Cuyahoga County judges on Friday formally handed down three separate death sentences to George Brinkman Jr., a man who admitted to the brutal murders of his longtime friend and her two adult daughters in their home last year. Common Pleas Judges Peter Corrigan, Michael Shaughnessy and Timothy McCormick imposed one death sentence on Brinkman for each woman whose life he ended on June 12, 2017: Suzanne Taylor, 42, Taylor Pifer, 21, and Kylie Pifer, 18. The judges also sentenced Brinkman, 46, White, to serve an additional 47 years in prison on charges including kidnapping, aggravated burglary and felonious assault related to the deaths. Brinkman’s motive for the killings remains unclear. Brinkman had been friends with Taylor since high school, but family believe he wanted to be more than friends. Last month a three-judge panel heard from witnesses, watched Brinkman's confession and went through evidence before invoking the death penalty. After murdering the Taylor family, police say Brinkman drove to Stark County, and shot and killed his employers, Rogell John, 71, and Roberta Ray John, 64. The couple was found dead in their house in Lake Township. He'll face a separate trial for their deaths.