A Pennsylvania resident, George Sisco, 29, has been sentenced to a prison term ranging from 29 1/2 to 60 years for the brutal murder of his grandmother, Margie Finlay, 67. Sisco pleaded guilty but mentally ill to charges of third-degree murder, arson, and terroristic threats related to the incident that occurred in April 2024, according to the Pike County District Attorney’s Office.
On April 26, 2024, emergency services were called to a fire at Finlay’s residence in Milford Township, approximately 40 miles northeast of Philadelphia. Upon arrival, firefighters discovered Sisco, covered in blood, standing outside the burning house. Sisco did not respond to inquiries from an assistant fire chief about his wellbeing. Instead, he walked back into the burning house, threatening anyone who attempted to follow him.
Sisco was later quoted as saying, “She was the devil and I had to do it.” After the fire was extinguished, Finlay’s lifeless body was discovered in the kitchen. Sisco confessed to the police that he had killed his grandmother and set the house on fire, claiming that the flea medication she was applying to the cat was harmful.
According to the Pocono Record, Sisco had slit his grandmother’s throat and stabbed her before using a kitchen rag to ignite the fire. He told Pennsylvania State Police that he believed the Bible instructed him to use the holy spirit and fire to kill the devil.
An autopsy revealed that Finlay’s death was caused by blunt force trauma and sharp injuries. Initially, a psychological evaluation deemed Sisco, diagnosed with schizophrenia, unfit to stand trial. However, a subsequent evaluation cleared him for trial.
Finlay’s son described his mother’s affection for Sisco before labeling him a monster. Sisco’s attorney attributed his client’s actions to his discontinuation of his medication. Pike County District Attorney Ray Tonkin, who prosecuted the case, stated, “There are no winners here, the loved ones of Margie Finlay deeply grieve their loss and that can never be fully repaired.”