Judge sentences convicted killer to death in fatal shooting of Twinsburg police officer

AKRON, Ohio - The judge upheld the jury's recommendation for a death sentence in the 2008 murder of the Twinsburg police officer during a traffic stop.

"I feel like a weight's been lifted off my shoulders," said Holly Miktarian after learning the man who shot and killed her husband, police officer Joshua Miktarian, was sentenced to death for his crime.

"It was just a sense of relief, it really was. You can't really be happy, you can't be sad," she said.  "I can just let it all off my shoulders now."

Ashford Thompson will now receive the death penalty instead of the possibility of serving life in prison.

In court, Holly called Thompson a monster for shooting her husband, not once, but four times.

"And then you bent over and you shot him again, and again, and again. You put the gun on his head, that's disgusting."

"One day my little girl will say 'Mommy, there's a monster in my closet or under my bed' and I'm gonna say 'No, baby, that monster's going to be locked up for the rest of his life," said Holly.

Josh's mother also addressed Thompson, saying the shot that took her son's life that night also took hers.

"I'm like a shell," said Mindy Barlow. "Just going through the motions of life."

When asked if he had anything to say to the court, Thompson read aloud from his Bible for 15 minutes before saying a prayer asking for forgiveness for his sins.

"I didn't want to look at him," said Holly Miktarian. "He didn't deserve the respect from me to look at him. I heard his words but they didn't effect me in that way not at all. 

"You don't do what you did to a human being. There's no remorse for that. How can there be?" she said.

Holly spoke of the overwhelming support she has received not only from the law enforcement community, but Northeast Ohio as a whole. She also spoke of the daily joy that comes from her daughter, Thea, who was just over 3 months old when Josh was killed.

"Thank God for her, she's kept me smiling, but even looking at her I see him. Obviously, it's not easy," Holly said.

As for Bagio, Josh's K9 partner, who was with him the night he was shot, Holly got a laugh from the room.

"He's a true man of retirement, he's gained a couple of pounds and he's asking for a home in Florida," she said.

Thompson's execution is set for one year from the day of sentencing: June 23, 2011.