A Pennsylvania man will serve decades in prison for stabbing and beating his grandmother to death before setting her on fire.
George Sisco, 29, was sentenced to 29 1/2 to 60 years in prison on Friday after pleading guilty but mentally ill to third-degree murder, arson, and terroristic threats in the death of Margie Finlay, 67, in April 2024, according to a press release from the Pike County District Attorney’s Office.
On April 26, 2024, crews responded to a fire at Finlay’s home in Milford Township, approximately 40 miles northeast of Philadelphia. As firefighters battled the blaze, they discovered Sisco covered in blood in front of the house. Sisco did not respond when an assistant fire chief asked if he needed assistance. According to prosecutors, the defendant walked further into the home and threatened anyone who attempted to enter.
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“She was the devil, and I had to do it,” Sisco allegedly stated.
Firefighters extinguished the fire and discovered Finlay dead in the kitchen.
“Sisco admitted to police he killed his grandmother and started a fire in the house, saying the flea medication she was putting on the cat was harmful,” according to prosecutors.
The Pocono Record reported that he slashed his grandmother’s throat and stabbed her before setting her on fire with a kitchen rag. Sisco told troopers from the Pennsylvania State Police that the Bible states, “In order to kill the devil, he must use the holy spirit and fire.”
An autopsy revealed that the cause of death was blunt force trauma and sharp injuries.
Sisco, who has schizophrenia, was initially found incompetent to stand trial, but a second exam cleared him.
Finlay’s son told the Record that his mother loved Sisco before calling him a monster. According to Sisco’s attorney, his client became disoriented after discontinuing his medication.
“There are no winners here; Margie Finlay’s loved ones deeply mourn her loss, and that can never be fully repaired,” said Pike County District Attorney Ray Tonkin, who prosecuted the case.