LISBON — Joseph Boyer received his wish for a jury trial to tell his side of the story about a 2022 knife attack against his former girlfriend, but jurors found him guilty Tuesday and he’s headed back to prison for eight to 12 years.

“His explanation of what happened was rejected by the jury and frankly made no sense to me,” Columbiana County Common Pleas Court Judge Scott Washam said before sentencing the 52-year-old former East Liverpool resident.

Washam ordered Boyer to prison for eight to 12 years for felonious assault, a second-degree felony, and 18 months for domestic violence, a fourth-degree felony, but concurrently, to be served at the same time. He received credit for 785 days already served since his arrest on July 7, 2022, the day of the attack in East Liverpool. The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections could decide to add up to four years on top of the eight years.

County Assistant Prosecutor Tammie Riley Jones, who prosecuted the case along with county Assistant Prosecutor Steve Yacovone, recommended consecutive sentences of eight to 12 years for felonious assault and one year for domestic violence, for a total minimum of nine years, the same recommendation and actual sentence he received the first time around in April 2023, before his conviction was reversed by the Seventh District Court of Appeals and the case returned to the county. He had originally entered a guilty plea to both charges before filing a motion to withdraw his plea before he was sentenced that first time. The judge overruled the plea withdrawal request, which the appellate court said was an error.

A jury of 11 men and one woman issued the guilty verdict for both charges and made an additional finding that he had a previous conviction for domestic violence. The decision came just one hour after jurors received the case in a trial which began Monday morning.

“I think the jury came to the right verdict. We’re obviously very happy the victim finally got justice,” Yacovone said after the sentencing.

Jones called the attack brutal, leading to severe injuries to the victim’s neck and wrist, requiring surgery to repair tendons in her wrist and therapy. She said there was nothing to suggest that the offense was brought on by the victim. She also said Boyer showed no remorse for his conduct, virtually blaming everyone but himself.

The victim, who testified and was present for the verdict and sentencing, chose not to address the court, but Jones indicated that she had some comfort knowing Boyer wouldn’t be able to harm her or anyone else.

“He was obviously dealing with many issues when this happened,” defense attorney T. Robert Bricker said about his client.

Bricker suggested it might be more productive to give him probation so he could work on his issues rather than prison.

“I’m very sorry for what I did,” Boyer said, claiming that he has asked for the victim’s forgiveness hundreds of times. “This is between me and her and God.”

He said he hoped God could forgive him and that one day she could forgive him.

During a rambling narrative about their relationship and what he claimed happened on July 7, 2022, Boyer talked about how he and the victim met and he divorced his wife to be with her. They eventually lived together and both were alcoholics drinking all the time. He admitted he wasn’t supposed to be at the Ogden Street, East Liverpool residence where they lived due to a no contact order issued when he was convicted of domestic violence against her the month before.

He claimed that he was intoxicated when he returned to the home on July 7, 2022 after spending the night across the street due to an argument with the victim. He claimed he woke her up in the bedroom, they had intercourse, and that she went to the bathroom and he went out to the living room where the roommate was and she claimed the victim was cheating on him with another man. The victim then came out and asked why she would say that when she knows how he is.

He said there was a lot of yelling, he called her a whore, then he said she grabbed a knife and he was trying to get it off of her, claiming they were wrestling for the knife and he was on top of her and claimed he got the butcher knife off of her and looked down and saw she was cut. Then he said she reached for the other knife and “I hit her with that butcher knife. I hit her hand.”

He said Edward Gregory, the man he claimed she was cheating on him with, was already on his way over and he told her to get out and have him take her to the hospital.

The victim’s testimony the day before was quite different, but consistent with what she has said from the beginning. She was sleeping on the couch when he came in and started arguing with her, pulled her hair and then went into the kitchen and grabbed a knife, cutting her neck multiple times and slashing her wrist. She thought she was going to die.

Throughout his testimony, Boyer kept saying how much he loved her still and claimed he got blood on his clothes from hugging her before she left. He also had what Jones called excuses during his testimony to attempt to counteract other testimony from witnesses earlier in the day regarding a jail call he made to the victim on July 22, 2022 and what he said to a corrections officer at the jail on July 8, 2022.

Jennifer Tedrow, an investigator with the county Prosecutor’s Office, testified that she reviewed the jail call, which was then played for the jury. On the call between Boyer and the victim, he said he didn’t believe he did that to her and didn’t know why he would pick that knife up. The victim can be heard asking him about why two of her knives were in his truck and he said the only two knives he had were in her living room, which is where the attack occurred.

Tedrow said according to jail call records, Boyer tried to call the victim almost 2,000 times since the attack and only about 200 of the calls were answered. The last call was just last week. She reviewed over 100 of the calls and there was discussion by Boyer to the victim about coming to court.

“The defendant did not want the victim to come to court,” she said.

Former county jail corrections officer Marisha Heaven also testified and said when she was escorting Boyer to the arraignment room on July 8, 2022, she asked why he was back. She knew him from him being in the jail previously.

“He said his girlfriend cheated on him and he cut her throat,” Heaven said.

She thought he was joking and even asked if it was a joke and he said no. She didn’t know why he was there at the time and noted normally two officers would have been escorting in that case. At the time, one of the charges against him was attempted murder, but it was later dropped due to legal issues. She said he later threatened to kill her.

The state rested its case at 9:17 a.m. after Heaven’s testimony. Boyer was the only witness for the defense and claimed he was trashed at the jail after his arrest and overheard some other officers saying he slashed his old lady’s throat and he was only repeating what they said when he made the statement to Heaven. He claimed he never threatened to kill anyone, including the victim, Gregory, Heaven and anyone else who claimed he did.

“I’m sorry I picked up any knife,” he said.

“This was absolutely heat of the moment. I never wanted that girl hurt,” he said about the victim, adding “I’ll love her until the day I take my last breath.”

During closing arguments, Yacovone went through both charges, explaining how all the elements of each were proven beyond a reasonable doubt. He said the defendant’s version of events didn’t make sense and he asked jurors to remember the demeanor of both the victim and the defendant when they testified.

Bricker claimed his client was truthful and asked jurors to look at the inconsistencies in the testimony of the victim. He said the evidence doesn’t show that this was a vicious attack. Jones disagreed, saying it was a vicious and brutal attack and the defendant said what he did. The injuries weren’t accidental.

Washam advised Boyer of his right to appeal the conviction.