George Sisco (Pike County District Attorney’s Office).
A Pennsylvania man will spend decades in prison for stabbing and beating his grandmother to death before setting her body on fire.
George Sisco, aged 29, was given a prison sentence ranging from 29 1/2 to 60 years this Friday after he entered a plea of guilty but mentally ill to charges of third-degree murder, arson, and making terroristic threats concerning the April 2024 demise of 67-year-old Margie Finlay. The Pike County District Attorney’s Office detailed the sentencing in a press statement.
On April 26, 2024, emergency crews attended to a fire at Finlay’s abode in Milford Township, situated approximately 40 miles to the northeast of Philadelphia. As firefighters were actively combating the flames, they observed Sisco, bloodied, at the entrance of the residence. Despite an assistant fire chief’s inquiries regarding his need for assistance, Sisco offered no response. He proceeded to re-enter the building, warning against any attempts to follow, according to the prosecutors.
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“She was the devil and I had to do it,” Sisco reportedly said.
Firefighters extinguished the fire and found Finlay dead in the kitchen.
“Sisco confessed to the authorities about killing his grandmother and initiating the blaze in the house, citing concerns over the flea medication she was applying to the cat being hazardous,” the prosecutors revealed.
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He slashed his grandma’s throat and stabbed her before using a kitchen rag to set her on fire, the Pocono Record reported. Sisco told troopers with the Pennsylvania State Police that the Bible said “in order to kill the devil, he must use the holy spirit and fire.”
An autopsy determined that the cause of death was blunt force trauma and sharp injuries.
A psychological exam originally deemed Sisco, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, incompetent to stand trial, but a second one cleared him.
Finlay’s son said his mother loved Sisco before calling him a monster, the Record reported. Sisco’s attorney said his client lost his way when he stopped taking his medication.
“There are no winners here, the loved ones of Margie Finlay deeply grieve their loss and that can never be fully repaired,” said Pike County District Attorney Ray Tonkin, who prosecuted the case.
