Background: News footage of Gregory Guilfoyle being wheeled into court for sentencing (WXIX). Inset: Survivor Hannah Lynch speaks to reporters outside the courtroom after sentencing (WXIX).
An Indiana man who shot his pregnant wife in the head, leaving her to die in her front yard during a flash freeze, was sentenced to 100 years in prison.
Gregory Guilfoyle, a former police officer in Greenhills, Ohio, was convicted on eight charges on April 14 including the attempted murder of his wife and a sheriff’s deputy. On Dec. 23, 2022, Guilfoyle — then 31 years old — shot Hannah Lynch, then 23, in the head in front of the couple’s Brookville, Indiana home. He took their then-23-month-old daughter and left the scene on foot during a blizzard.
According to reporting by the Cincinnati-based Enquirer, a plow driver spotted Guilfoyle on the road with the child, who was wearing just a onesie outside in the freezing cold, and called police.
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Franklin County Sheriff’s Deputy Arin Bowers responded and found Guilfoyle carrying the toddler. In dashcam video shown in court, Guilfoyle can be seen opening fire on Bowers, who was hit in his bulletproof vest. Uninjured, Bowers returned fire and hit Guilfoyle, critically injuring him and causing him to drop the little girl, who was unharmed.
Guilfoyle suffered injuries that left him paralyzed from the neck down.
After police confirmed Guilfoyle’s identity, they went to the home he shared with Lynch, where officers had previously responded to a domestic violence call. There, they found Lynch unconscious in the snow with a bullet wound to her head. She was rushed to the nearest trauma center and ultimately survived.
Lynch lost the baby she was carrying, and she suffered life-altering injuries. In addition to a permanent shunt in her skull, she lost a toe to frostbite and had to relearn basic motor skills.
She told Guilfoyle in court, “This is my new normal. This happened to me because of you. You disfigured me.”
She also told him, “You are scum.”
Guilfoyle was found guilty of eight felony counts including the attempted murders of Lynch and Bowers, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, domestic battery with a deadly weapon, and neglect of a dependent. The jury deliberated for just two hours before finding Guilfoyle guilty but mentally ill.
On Monday, a judge sentenced Guilfoyle to a total of 100 years in prison.
His defense attorneys indicated that they plan to appeal, and argued that their client suffered post-traumatic stress disorder after his work as a police officer. The Enquirer reported that since the shooting, Guilfoyle has been diagnosed with other mental illnesses. He reportedly told the court that he was hallucinating on that fateful night.
