Ohio man gets life for killing mother and living six months with body

By Kim Palmer CLEVELAND (Reuters) - An Ohio man convicted of stabbing his mother and living with her corpse for six months was sentenced on Wednesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Michael Petrie, 33, of Barberton, a suburb of Akron, was found guilty of murder and abuse of a corpse after a short trial in June. Prosecutors said Petrie killed his 67-year-old mother in October 2012 by stabbing her in the face, neck and heart with a sai, a traditional Asian martial arts weapon. Petrie continued to live with his mother in her home until April 2013 when police found her body. Petrie, who was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia as a child, initially entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, according to a statement from Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh. Summit County Judge Thomas Teodosio ordered a psychological evaluation late last year but the jury found Petrie legally sane at the time of the crime. Petrie declined to say anything before Teodosio sentenced him. (Reporting by Kim Palmer; Editing by Fiona Ortiz and Eric Beech)