Former Ohio judge gets life in prison for killing ex-wife in front of daughters
A former Ohio judge and state lawmaker was sentenced to life in prison last week for the brutal 2018 stabbing death of his ex-wife and the mother of his children.
Lance Mason, an ex-Cuyahoga County common pleas judge, was sentenced Friday after he pled guilty in August to charges including aggravated murder, felonious assault, violating a protection order and grand theft auto in the death of Aisha Fraser.
The charges were in relation to a vicious attack that took place on Nov. 18, 2018, when Fraser went to drop off one of her and Mason's daughters at a home where Mason and his adult sister were living in Shaker Heights, Ohio.
Mason, now 52, reportedly flew into an unprovoked fit of rage and stabbed Fraser 59 times with two kitchen knives in front of their children, Cleaveland.com reports. One of the panicked girls ran inside and told Mason's sister, who proceeded to call 911.
Mason was previously suspended from practicing law after attacking Fraser in front of their children on while they were driving home from a relative's funeral in August 2014.
According to NBC News, the former judge repeatedly struck Fraser in the head, bit her face and slammed her head against the dashboard in front of their two kids, who were 4 and 6 years old at the time.
The attack led Fraser to seek a divorce from Mason, who also received a 9-month sentence after pleading guilty to the assault.
Mason will be eligible for parole after spending 35 years behind bars — 30 for killing his ex-wife and 5 for injuring a police officer while fleeing the scene of the crime.
