SOUTH CHARLESTON, Ohio (Court TV) — An Ohio man was sentenced to 21 years to life in prison after a jury convicted him of the death of an Uber driver sent to his home by scammers.
Last month, a jury convicted William Brock of multiple charges, including felony murder, felonious assault and kidnapping in the March 2024 death of Lo-Letha Hall.
William Brock appears in court for his sentencing hearing on Feb. 2, 2026. (Court TV)
Brock admitted to killing Hall, but said he did so believing that she had been sent to his home by people trying to steal from him. Brock had been targeted by scammers who called his home multiple times that morning, threatening to kill him and his family if he didn’t pay $12,000. Investigators say the same scammers sent Hall, who was working as an Uber driver, to collect the money. There is no evidence that Hall knew she was part of a scam.
In the days following his conviction, more than 80 letters were submitted to Judge Douglas Rastatter ahead of Brock’s sentencing, pleading for mercy on the defendant’s behalf.
Brock’s attorney, Jon Paul Rion, filed a motion ahead of sentencing asking Judge Rastatter to overturn the jury’s verdict or order a new trial. The motion argues that jury instructions in the case were “fatally flawed.” While prosecutors argued that Hall remained outside Brock’s home, Brock’s defense now argues that, because she was on the home’s attached porch, she was functionally inside “the residence,” changing the standard for self-defense. Because Hall had “no legal right” to be inside Brock’s home, the jury instructions for self-defense were incomplete.
Brock’s sentencing hearing began on Friday, Jan. 30, but proceedings were paused until Feb. 2 after one of the attorneys suffered a medical emergency in the courtroom.
On Monday, a judge sentenced Brock to a total of 21 years to life in prison.
