“You will go to prison for as long as I can send you”

CLEVELAND — Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge David T. Matia sentenced a Cleveland man convicted of killing his ex-wife in front of their 7-year-old daughter to life in prison during a sentencing hearing Thursday.

Joshua Lynch, 36, will not be eligible for parole until he has served 28.5 years behind bars.

“If there was ever an individual who does not deserve to walk free in organized society, it is you,” Judge Matia said.

The judge noted that Lynch smiled upon learning his fate.

“Is this amusing to you?” he asked. “I don’t understand why you’re smiling.”

Matia found Lynch guilty of two counts of murder, two counts of felonious assault, two counts of possessing weapons under disability, one count of child endangerment and one count of felony abuse of a corpse after a trial in court last week.

Lynch shot and killed his ex-wife, Jovon Ferguson-Lynch, at their Huntmere Avenue home in Cleveland while their then-7-year-old daughter was present in February 2023.

After shooting her twice, Lynch dragged her body into a car and then drove away in another car with his daughter.

Days later, Lynch turned himself in.

News 5 first reported on Lynch’s case last year.

Our investigation revealed that Lynch was homeless and able to kill Jovon despite having been convicted in a dozen felony cases in Cuyahoga County, including one in which he was accused of threatening her with a gun.

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Jovon’s three sisters and his mother, Annetta Ferguson, gave victim impact statements during the hearing.

“He took my little sister from us,” said Terrasita Ferguson. “My niece doesn’t have a mother, she doesn’t have a fucking father.”

Ferguson is raising Jovon’s daughter.

“My (granddaughter) will never see her mother again,” he said. “I have custody of her. I cannot take her (Jovon’s) place.”