FULTON COUNTY, OH (WTOL) - The Honorable Judge Jeffrey Robinson has sentenced James Worley to death.
Worley's execution date is set for June 2019.
Just two weeks ago, the jury recommended to Judge Robinson that Worley should receive the death penalty.
Worley was found guilty on March 27 of kidnapping and murdering 20-year-old Sierah Joughin.
In addition to the death penalty, Worley was also up for life in prison without parole, life with a chance of parole in 30 years or life with a chance of parole in 25 years.
Worley's sentencing comes nearly two years after Sierah's death.
On July 19, 2016, Sierah disappeared after she and her boyfriend parted ways after a bike ride. Her bike was found the next day in a cornfield as law enforcement and volunteers searched for her.
On July 22, a barn was searched at Worley's residence on County Road 6, about two miles where Sierah's bike was found. Worley was arrested that day and charged with one count of abduction.
Worley would go on to be found guilty of 17 charges including murder, kidnapping and aggravated murder as Sierah's body was found in a shallow grave just miles from Worley's home the day he was arrested.
This was not the first time Worley has attempted something like this. He was also involved in a kidnapping case from 1990.
According to court documents, a 26-year-old woman was riding her bike on a rural road near Whitehouse when Worley hit her with his truck and tried to abduct her. The woman was able to get away, and she testified against Worley during the trial of The People vs. James Worley.
Worley's sentencing closes a tragic chapter in the lives of Sierah's family and friends, and will hopefully open a new one of healing and justice for Sierah.
