Life Without Parole

CELINA - A Coldwater man was sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole and an additional 22 years in prison on Monday after pleading guilty to the aggravated murder of his neighbor and two other felony charges.

Francy Majo, 21, was convicted on an unclassified felony charge of aggravated murder with a felony murder specification and first-degree felonies of aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary on Monday during his final pretrial hearing.

Three other charges, including two unclassified felony murder charges and one first-degree felony charge of rape, were dropped as part of the plea deal.

The sentence was handed down by a panel that included Mercer County Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey Ingraham, Allen County Common Pleas Judge Jeff Reed andVan Wert County Common Pleas Judge Martin Burchfield. The judges unanimously sentenced Majo to life in prison without parole on the aggravated murder charge with an additional 22 years for the aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary charges, all to be served consecutively. Majo said in court that he is not a U.S. citizen, and Ingraham advised him the sentence included the possibility of deportation.

Without a plea agreement, Majo could have faced the death penalty or life without parole.

"On behalf of the state of Ohio, I made the decision to not seek the death penalty but rather secure a plea ensuring Francy Majo will serve a life sentence without parole after countless meetings and consultations with (victim Sandra Renner's) family, who are fully supportive of this resolution," Mercer County Prosecutor Matthew Fox said in a statement.

"Francy Majo murdered Sandra Renner almost two years ago. Though this case has been pending for some time, it is my hope that with Francy Majo's guilty plea to these offenses and with his sentence that should ensure he spends the rest of his life behind bars that those who knew and loved Sandy will find the strength to move forward from Francy Majo's horrific crimes and this senseless loss," Fox continued.

Majo was originally arrested in January 2018, shortly after Renner was found dead in her apartment at 914 N. Elm St., Coldwater. Police officers responded to Renner's apartment after Renner's mother, Sherry McCord, called Mercer County 911 the morning of Jan. 3. McCord had said she had discovered Renner lying face up on the living room floor with several lacerations amid obvious signs of a struggle. Renner was dead upon officers' arrival.

According to the stipulation of facts read in the court on Monday, Renner was found by members of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation to have multiple stab wounds in her chest and had several articles of clothing removed. Bloody handprints also had reportedly been found on her body.

BCI investigators found evidence the perpetrator was after valuables, and rooms in the apartment appeared to have been ransacked. Footprints also were reportedly found going between Unit 912, the apartment where Majo was living, and Renner's apartment.

Officers executed a search warrant at 912 N. Elm St. and began interviewing its residents. Officers also searched the apartment complex dumpster and reportedly found clothes and a knife stained with what officers suspected was blood in a plastic bag.

Majo was one of the residents of 912 N. Elm St. and was interviewed with the assistance of an interpreter fluent in Marshallese. He initially denied any involvement in Renner's death, according to court documents. When presented with pictures of evidence collected from the dumpster, Majo reportedly eventually admitted the items collected from the dumpster were his and that he had discarded them there.

According to court documents, Majo then said that a few days prior - he believed it was Sunday - he had walked to Renner's apartment, had stabbed her to death and then left.

"Francy Majo demonstrated that he had cut Sandra Renner's throat, and he stated that he had stabbed her. He stated he was unsure the number of times he stabbed her," the court documents read. An autopsy performed by the Lucas County Coroner's Office later found Renner had been stabbed "approximately 20 times," concluding the manner of her death was homicide.

Several pieces of evidence were reportedly analyzed for DNA. Majo's DNA was found on Renner's body and in samples taken from under her fingernails. DNA testing on a shirt found in the apartment also "presented a positive profile for Francy Majo with an estimated frequency of occurrence of the NDNA profile as rarer than 1 in 1 trillion," according to court documents.

"I want to say sorry to the family," Majo said Monday through his interpreter, Barbara A. Fisher.

In a statement during the sentencing, Melissa Jackson, Renner's sister, described Renner as a fun and sweet person and a good aunt. She said she would never forgive Majo for what he had done to Renner. After Jackson's statement, Majo said he would happily accept the plea deal and again apologized to Renner's family, according to his interpreter.