PAINESVILLE -- Judge Richard Collins Jr. has sentenced Joe Thomas, the man a jury found guilty of murdering Mentor-on-the-Lake bartender Annie McSween, to death.
On Oct. 4, the jury unanimously recommended the death penalty.
Related article: Painesville: Jury says unanimous death penalty for murder
After several victim impact statements from the family and friends, Collins announced his sentence.
Thomas28, of Perry Township, will get an automatic appeal by state law.He was convicted on Sept. 28 of raping and murdering McSween, 49, of Mentor outside Mario's Lakeway Lounge in November 2010.
The jury found Thomas guilty on all 11 counts -- three counts of aggravated murder, three counts of kidnapping, two counts of aggravated robbery, rape and tampering with evidence.
This is only the second capital murder case in Lake County in nearly two decades. The last was the Jeffrey Lundgren mass murder trial, when now-Congressman Steve LaTourette was the Lake County prosecutor.
WKYC-TV