Blair gets 23 years to life for shooting, killing neighbor

Convicted murderer James H. Blair was sentenced Friday morning to 23 years to life in prison for shooting and killing his neighbor.Exactly one week earlier, Blair, 51, of Willard, pleaded guilty to one count each of aggravated murder and gross abuse of a corpse. He was convicted of the July 28, 2015 shooting murder of his neighbor, Linda Ciotto. As part of the plea deal, prosecutors dismissed one count each of murder and felonious assault, which were the less serious charges related to Blair's conviction.Ciotto, 62, had been mowing her yard about 9 p.m. at her Kirkwood Drive, Willard, home before she was shot and murdered. Ciotto's daughter said her mother planned to be in Columbus for a few days — where she recently had bought a house to refurbish — and "she didn't want to leave the lawn unmoved."Ciotto had waited to mow the yard until later that night "because it was ridiculously hot outside" during the day, her daughter said.Huron County Prosecutor Daivia Kasper has said Blair became upset and used a .38 revolver he normally kept in his mother's bedroom to shoot Ciotto "directly in the face." "The bullet went through her finger and into her right cheek," Kasper said. "The coroner determined she died within seconds."Before her murder, Ciotto retired from the railroad. She worked her way up from working as a phone operator in the 1970s to being the assistant superintendent of operations in Indiana.After the shooting, Blair moved the still running lawnmower onto Ciotto's body, which "caused a great gash on her arm" and broke both bones in her lower, left arm and amputated her finger, Kasper said last week. Blair then spoke to his mother before turning himself into the Huron County Sheriff's Office.Huron County Public Defender David Longo, during Friday's sentencing, said the case isn't "a simple matter of a guy angry over the sound of a lawn mower" or even gun enforcement. He said there's no disputing his client is "a seriously mentally ill individual.""He is a diagnosed schizophrenic," said Longo, noting Blair wasn't taking medication or seeing a psychiatrist at the time of the murder. "He hadn't even left his mother's premises in a year."Blair declined to speak on his own behalf Friday. His mother, Billie A. Hinkle, 73, of Willard, is charged with tampering with evidence and two counts of obstructing justice. Deputies have said they found a .38 caliber bullet in the victim's body and the murder weapon in Hinkle's purse."I know it's a cliché, but there are never any winners in a case like this," Longo said.Blair was sentenced to 20 years to life for aggravated murder with an additional three years for using the gun to shoot Ciotto. Huron County Common Pleas Judge Jim Conway imposed 11 months in prison for gross abuse of a corpse, which will run at the same time as the rest of the sentence. Blair will be up for parole in 23 years.Conway said the case was one of the "most shocking and heinous" ones he has handled in his nearly 10 years as a judge. By all accounts, he said Ciotto sounded like a hard worker and loving mother who "was loved and respected by the people who knew her." The judge expressed his condolences to the many family members and friends who were in the courtroom Friday. Conway thanked them for their feedback and said he hopes Friday's hearing is a first step in the healing process.James H. Blair sits and listens to the proceedings Friday morning at his sentencing in Huron County Common Pleas Court. Also pictured is Huron County Sheriff's Deputy Joe Andrews. Blair declined comment when given the chance by Judge James Conway.