An Indiana man sentenced to 100 years in prison after shooting his pregnant wife and leaving her for dead in a blizzard.
Gregory Guilfoyle was sentenced on May 12 for the attempted murders of his wife Hannah Lynch and Franklin County Sheriff’s Deputy Arin Bowers.
Guilfoyle arrived for his sentencing on Monday in a wheelchair. According to his lawyers, he has been paralyzed since the shootout with Bowers.
Lynch spoke at the Franklin County Circuit Court hearing, detailing the trauma of that night in 2022 when she nearly died in her own front yard from a gunshot wound to the head. The incident resulted in a permanent shunt in her skull. She lost part of her toe to frostbite and had to relearn the majority of her basic motor skills.
“This is my new normal,” she explained in court. “This has happened to me because of you. “You disfigured me.”
She was pregnant at the time of the shooting and had lost the baby, but she thanked God and Bowers for saving her and her daughter’s lives.
“I say my daughter because she is not yours,” she informed Guilfoyle in court. “You are scum.”
She stated that the problem stemmed from domestic abuse.
“You and your parents are abusers,” Lynch told Guilfoyle. “I was an object, something to be shaped and brainwashed.” I was your puppet. “Our relationship was a façade.”
What happened on that December night?
A snowplow driver spotted Guilfoyle walking down the middle of Richland Creek Road near Brookville a few days before Christmas in 2022. In single digit temperatures, he was carrying his 23-month-old daughter in only a onesie. The plow driver called the cops.
Bowers responded and walked up to help, but instead found himself staring down the barrel of a gun. According to prosecutors, Guilfoyle shot Bowers while wearing a bullet-resistant vest, but Bowers returned fire, striking Guilfoyle.
Bowers picked up the little girl and made sure she wasn’t hurt after Guilfoyle fell, according to prosecutors.
“Are you okay, sweetie?” he inquired before placing her in the cruiser.
When Bowers and other deputies discovered Guilfoyle’s identity, they rushed to check on Hannah. There had been a previous domestic violence complaint at the house.
Lynch was found with a gunshot wound to the head, nearly unconscious and frozen in the snow.
Lynch was transported by ambulance to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, the nearest Level 1 trauma center, due to icy roads. Even on a sunny day, the drive would take about 45 minutes. She managed to survive, despite spending weeks in the hospital.
Guilfoyle was also hospitalized due to the gunshot wound, eventually ending up at the same hospital. His lawyers have stated that he has faced a number of medical issues as his case has progressed through court.
Guilfoyle found ‘guilty but mentally ill’
Guilfoyle claimed to have post-traumatic stress disorder from his time as a Greenhills police officer in Cincinnati’s suburbs, according to Prosecutor Chris Huerkamp. He has since been diagnosed with additional mental illnesses and is undergoing treatment, according to his therapist, who testified in court on May 12.
Guilfoyle admitted during the hearing that he was hallucinating at the time of the shooting.
Following just over two hours of deliberation, the jury found Guilfoyle “guilty but mentally ill” on eight different felony counts.
According to Huerkamp, a “guilty but mentally ill” finding in Indiana means that Guilfoyle faces the same potential sentence as before, but if incarcerated, he will receive psychiatric treatment for his mental illness.
Lynch’s mother said the court case was retraumatizing
Brenda Lynch, Lynch’s mother, spoke with Guilfoyle during his sentencing. She described fighting in court with Guilfoyle’s parents for custody of Hannah’s daughter, and how the ongoing legal proceedings were retraumatizing.
“Hannah said she felt like she was getting shot over and over again,” Brenda Lynch said. “She has aged decades over the last two years. Her vitality has been replaced by fear and self-doubt.
Lynch stated that Guilfoyle’s last words to her were that she was a bad mother and that he was going to kill their daughter.
Lynch’s mother stated that, despite everything, her daughter is an amazing mother who is extremely resilient, and that her granddaughter is also being raised to be strong.
“That monster did not win,” she explained. “You both deserve a happily ever after.”
What’s next?
Guilfoyle’s lawyer, Judson McMillin, stated in court following the sentencing that the client intends to appeal. He said the sentencing and some issues with the discovery process could be grounds for an appeal, but he would not represent Guilfoyle during that process.
Lynch said the sentence was excellent. She expressed gratitude to God, the deputies who saved her that night, and everyone who has helped her since.
“My daughter and I are safe now and we and my family can move forward,” she informed me. “Justice has finally been brought to this after two years of waiting.”
