Ross Township man sentenced in slaying of girlfriend
Robert Metz told detectives he began strangling Dolores Miller as she was gathering her things in his apartment.
Robert Metz told detectives he began strangling Dolores Miller as she was gathering her things in his apartment.
Robert Metz told detectives he began strangling Dolores Miller as she was gathering her things in his apartment.
Robert Metz, of Ross Township, who pleaded guilty to the strangulation death of his girlfriend, Dolores Miller, was sentenced Thursday to 15 to 30 years in prison.
Metz, 69, pleaded guilty in January to one count of third-degree murder and one count of abuse of a corpse before Judge Thomas Flaherty. One count of tampering with evidence was dropped.
Dozens of family members on both sides read impact statements in at Thursday's hearing. Metz's family says he suffered from depression but was never violent before the murder. Metz also spoke, apologizing to Miller's family and telling the judge he would never forgive himself.
Kristen Miller, Dolores Miller's daughter told the judge how devastating it will be when she gets married next month without her mother there.
"We're going to make tributes to her at my wedding, so she's still going to be there," Miller said. "Maybe no physically but she's still going to be there in our hearts."
Metz was charged with criminal homicide, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence after police investigated what they called a "suspicious death" along Highland Pines Drive in Ross Township.
Officials said Metz admitted to Ross Township detectives that he killed Miller.
At his preliminary hearing, a Ross Township Detective testified that Metz told him the relationship between him and Miller was over. She was in his apartment to gather her things. According to police, she said she loved him and he began to strangle her, eventually killing her.
Around 20 of Miller's loved ones were in the courtroom Friday.
The death occurred on June 17, 2018 Police discovered Miller's body in the apartment three days later.
Police say when they made entry into the apartment, they discovered Metz in a bathtub with bloody water and a knife in hand. Metz told police he wanted to commit suicide.