An Ohio man received a sentence of decades behind bars for beating his ex-wife with a bat, strangling her with a rope, and setting her house ablaze—an attack she survived.
Court information from Law&Crime reveals the incident occurred around 10 p.m. on June 2, 2025, while the victim lay in her bed. Her ex-husband, 66-year-old Frederick Harroff, had left her earlier to take several pills before returning and making threats against her life.
“I have nothing to live for, you’re not going to live either,” the victim recalled Harroff telling her. “I’m going to burn this place down and we’re both going to die.”
Harroff struck the woman with a wooden baseball bat before strangling her with a rope and trying to bind her legs. He then set a fire in the home that burned him, leaving marks police later used to link him to the crime. The fire destroyed the victim’s home.
Despite her severe injuries, the victim escaped the house and reached a neighbor for help.
“He is an evil, cruel, malicious monster,” the victim said of Harroff. “He has shown no remorse.”
Police found Harroff hiding in the woods near his trailer. At trial, Harroff claimed he could not remember the night and blamed mental illness for his state of mind. Prosecutors, however, revealed that Harroff kept contacting the victim after his arrest and continued threatening her.
In March 2026, he pled guilty to first-degree murder, aggravated arson, kidnapping, aggravated arson, felonious assault, and felony strangulation. On April 24, he was sentenced to 39 years in prison to 44 and a half years in prison, which was much more than the prosecution’s request of 20 years to 25 and a half years.
Leave a Reply