An Austintown man who murdered his ex-girlfriend and mother of his child in 2021 was handed his sentence in court on Thursday.

Twenty-six-year-old Steve Green has been sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole on a charge of murder with firearm specifications, as well as charges of tampering with evidence, attempted rape and extortion.

Green had also pled guilty to a domestic violence charge, but this was suspended during sentencing.

The charges stem from an incident in October of 2021 when Green shot and killed his ex-girlfriend, Ashley Lockhart over a dispute between the two and their child.

Austintown Police had previously told 21 News that Green had threatened to kill Lockhart in the past more than once.

Additionally, audio played for the court during Green's trial revealed that he had told Lockhart over a phone call that he wanted to kill her so he could experience the satisfaction of "watching [her] soul leave [her] body."

During Green's sentencing, Judge Anthony D'Apolito laid out to the court the extent of the abuse that had been going on and explained why he decided on the harshest sentence.

"There was years of abuse. Mental certainly. Probably Physical. There was harassment, there was stalking, there was threatening, there was ambush ...  every element that I could think of that would make this the worst form of the offense," Judge D'Apolito said