CANTON ‒ A Canton woman has been sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for the murder of 54-year-old Jerry L. Morris.
Yolanda R. Lowery, 54, pleaded guilty to murder, kidnapping, tampering with evidence and gross abuse of a corpse. The charges stemmed from an incident in which Lowery kidnapped Morris, beat him to death, and dumped his body in Akron, the Stark County Prosecutor’s Office said in a Facebook post.
Judge Taryn L. Heath sentenced Lowery after the defendant pleaded guilty on Aug. 10.
No motive has been disclosed for the crime. The killing occurred in the 1200 block of Logan Avenue NW on July 30, 2025. Morris was found dead Aug. 1, 2025, outside a vacant house in the 100 block of Lake Street in Akron.
The defendant and the victim knew each other but were not living together at the time of the incident, Katie Erchick Gilbert said on Oct. 23. At the time, she was Canton city prosecutor. She is now a judge in Canton Municipal Court.
Stark County’s Chief Criminal Prosecutor Kristen Mlinar and Senior Assistant Prosecutor Megan Starrett prosecuted the case.
Yolanda’s Lowery’s attorney Craig W. McKinney did not respond immediately to a message offering the opportunity to comment on the case on the afternoon of Aug. 14.
A second suspect in the case, Yolanda Lowery’s 71-year-old mother Dorothy Lowery, was found not competent to stand trial. Heath sent her to Heartland Behavioral Healthcare in Massillon for treatment and restoration to competency. Dorothy Lowery has pleaded not guilty to murder, aggravated murder, kidnapping, tampering with evidence and gross abuse of a corpse.
The criminal complaint filed against Dorothy Lowery, of Canton, says she put Morris in a chokehold.
Dorothy Lowery’s attorney Donovan Hill did not respond immediately to a message offering the opportunity to comment on her case on the afternoon of Aug. 14.
Reach Nancy at 330-580-8382 or nancy.molnar@cantonrep.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter: @nmolnarTR.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Canton woman who dumped body in Akron gets 15 years to life in prison
Reporting by Nancy Molnar, Canton Repository / The Repository
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Nancy Molnar, Canton Repository | USA TODAY Network
