CLEVELAND — A Cuyahoga County jury has unanimously recommended the death penalty for Matthew Nicholson, who was convicted last week of killing his then-girlfriend's two teen children more than a year ago.
Nicholson was found guilty of two counts of aggravated murder in the deaths of 17-year-old Manuel Lopez and his 19-year-old sister Giselle Lopez in September of 2018. Their 44-year-old mother, who was dating the now-30-year-old Nicholson at the time, told police the incident began when she got into a fight with Nicholson that saw him strangle her and hit her in the face multiple times.
Manuel initially defended his mother, and after Giselle came home from work the family decided to leave when Nicholson threatened to kill them. However, Nicholson then came outside and shot both Manuel and Giselle in their Garfield Heights driveway. Their mother than ran to a neighbor and called 911.
"She was afraid of the guy," neighbor Connie Allshouse told 3News at the time. "He threatened to kill her numerous times, that he was going to kill her, kill the kids, set the house on fire. This has been going on for four years now...I've heard this story from her over and over, and it's finally happened."
Nicholson was arrested after a four-hour standoff with officers. Medical examiners later determined Manuel had been shot eight times and Giselle four, all in the back as they were running away.
"The heinous facts in this case led us to seek the death penalty. With this result, it is clear the Jurors agreed with our decision," Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley said in a statement Friday. "Our thoughts and prayers remain with the family of the teenage victims."
Nicholson is scheduled to be officially sentenced by Judge Timothy McCormick on Nov. 13 at 12:30 p.m. While it is possible McCormick could overrule the jury's recommendation of capital punishment, such cases are extremely rare.
