Inset: Joseph Michael Lynch (Springfield Police Department). Background: The area near where Lynch fatally stabbed Kenny Dale Ashby in Springfield, Fla. (Google Maps).
A Florida man has been sentenced to decades in prison after killing another man during a Facebook Marketplace vehicle sale that turned deadly.
Joseph Michael Lynch, 47, pleaded no contest earlier this week to second-degree murder and burglary with assault or battery in connection with the death of 33-year-old Kenny Dale Ashby, prosecutors said in a press release.
Circuit Court Judge Brantley Clark sentenced Lynch to 40 years for each charge. The sentences will be served concurrently, meaning at the same time.
“This was a senseless and violent attack, and for the family members of the victim we are glad that justice was quickly served,” prosecutor Peter Overstreet said. “The family agreed with the plea and the 40 years in prison which essentially is a life sentence for this defendant.”
The fatal confrontation unfolded late at night on July 3. At approximately 11:30 p.m., Lynch went to Ashby’s home on Ormond Avenue in Springfield, a small community about three miles east of Panama City.
The two men had been involved in a dispute after Lynch purchased a vehicle from Ashby through Facebook Marketplace. The vehicle did not have a title.
Ashby had promised to locate the title, but Lynch became angry when the process took longer than he expected. Prosecutors said Lynch then kicked in Ashby’s door and stabbed him to death in front of Ashby’s wife and child.
When officers arrived, they found Ashby suffering from several stab wounds. He was taken to Ascension Sacred Heart Bay, where he died from his injuries in the early morning hours of July 4.
Before Lynch entered his plea, prosecutors had been preparing for trial. They were expected to present evidence about the dispute over the vehicle, which had begun several days earlier, as well as testimony that Lynch brought and used two knives during the attack.
“The victim’s wife, young daughter and three other adults were in the home,” the prosecuting attorney’s office said in its release. “The defendant took their cell phones before fleeing.”
As Lynch ran from the house, he told people nearby to call 911. Responding officers were told by witnesses that he was in a driveway “a few houses down.”
Police arrested Lynch near the scene on Ormond Avenue after finding him lying face down in the street. According to a report from Panama City-based ABC affiliate WMBB, Lynch told officers, “I did it.”
“This loss has shattered this family completely; we have no sense of safety anymore, not even in our own home,” Ashby’s widow told the court. “The quiet hours of the night are filled with painful memories and recurring trauma. I relive that night all day every day. Kenny didn’t die once, he dies every day 100 times a day for each of us.”
During the sentencing hearing, the prosecutor also read a statement written by Ashby’s daughter.
“I want to express what the murder of my dad has done to me and my family,” the girl wrote. “The life he lived, the love he gave, and the pain he left behind. Some people say a girl’s first love is their brother, but mine was my dad.”
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