COLUMBUS, Ohio (Court TV) — A man who killed his girlfriend days after he was released from jail for a previous attack on the victim stood silent in court as the judge became emotional while sentencing him to prison.
“It’s heartbreaking that we’re here. It’s heartbreaking that you had assaulted her in the past, got out of jail, and 32 days later you did it again,” Judge Andria Noble said at Jason Palmer’s sentencing hearing on Tuesday.
Jason Palmer stands at his sentencing on Sept. 29, 2026. (Court TV)
A jury convicted Palmer, 38, earlier this month of murder, strangulation or suffocation and domestic violence in the death of his girlfriend, Rachel Prince, 46. Under Ohio law, those charges merged for sentencing purposes.
“Mr. Palmer, you’re lucky these counts merged,” Noble said. “Because if they did not, I would be sentencing you consecutively.”
Police found the victim dead in her Ohio home on July 13, 2025; the night before, the defendant was seen standing over her body on a concrete walkway before he “carried/dragged” her inside, Law&Crime reported. “When I watched this case, I saw you very clearly moving a dead body, trying to get rid of it,” Noble said Tuesday.
Prince’s family spoke at Palmer’s sentencing, describing him as an “evil person” and asking Noble to sentence him to the maximum possible. “Rachel was killed only 32 days after the defendant was released from jail for abusing her. The violence was extreme in Rachel’s death,” Prince’s aunt, Anghard Stock, said in court.
“I tried to put myself into the shoes of Rachel during her final moments. The trial for her murder and the pictures painted through evidence, images and detailed testimony make this sickening, but easy. The terror, anguish and pain that she experienced before she was robbed of her life by a wretched human is heart-wrenching to envision. A real-life monster, wearing the skin of a man as a disguise, destroyed something beautiful in 2025,” Prince’s brother, Kevin Wheeler, said. “Jason Palmer is a retaliatory, vindictive and evil human who is not deserving to walk freely in any community. He is a barbaric monster who has consumed the happiness of those around him and destroyed life.”
Palmer declined the opportunity to address the court.
Noble was bound to impose a statutory sentence of 15 years to life in prison under Ohio law. “But I can assure you, if I had the choice of what I would do, you would be doing far more than 15 years at the minimum,” she told Palmer.
Noble’s voice broke as she addressed the victim’s children: “I’m really sorry that you lost your mom,” she said, turning her attention to the defendant. “You took her away from them.”
