An Ohio murderer avoided a sentence of natural life Friday, but Matthew J. Pairadee has only a distant shot of getting out of prison alive.

Pairadee, 34, appeared Friday for sentencing in Bureau County Circuit Court and left with a pair of back-to-back prison terms totaling 66 years. He was convicted earlier this year of first-degree murder and home invasion in connection with the 2022 fatal shooting of Jerome Lauer, 69, also of Ohio.

When offered a chance to speak, Pairadee rose and asked Chief Judge H. Chris Ryan Jr. for leniency in light of his mental health issues, which led to Lauer’s fatal shooting.

“I never meant to let this happen,” Pairadee said.

At trial, Ryan had rejected Pairadee’s bid for a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity, but at sentencing Friday, the judge considered the mental health issues and rejected the state’s request for a life sentence.

“It’s sufficient, I would hope, that he’s convicted and held accountable,” Ryan said.

Lauer was killed in October 2022 following a child custody dispute involving a baby girl. Pairadee later gave a statement implicating himself. The case was repeatedly delayed while Pairadee visited with mental health professionals over his fitness to stand trial and sanity at the time of the shooting.

At sentencing, Bureau County State’s Attorney Dan Anderson asked for natural life for murder or at least a near-life tandem sentence for murder and home invasion, citing Pairadee’s criminal history, use of a firearm and Lauer being a senior citizen.

In response, Public Defender Brad Popurella asked for minimum terms. He reminded the judge that three different experts found “all kinds of evidence” that Pairadee “has serious mental deficiencies.”

In the end, the judge settled on the statutory minimum terms that nonetheless could mean life behind bars for Pairadee. Murder and home invasion are subject to firearm enhancements, resulting in sentencing ranges of 45 years to life and 21 to 45 for home invasion, respectively. Pairadee is required by statute to serve both terms back-to-back for an aggregate sentencing range of 66 years.

Pairadee has nearly 1,100 days’ credit for time served, but must serve 100% of his time for murder – he’s eligible for day-for-day credit for home invasion – meaning he’d become eligible for parole in his late 80s.

Lauer’s survivors initially told Shaw Media they would rest on in-court statements made by Jerome Lauer’s widow, Dawn Lauer, and stepson Bryson Cruise. Later, the family issued a statement.

Dawn Lauer gave Pairadee stony looks as she approached the bench to read her prepared statement. In it, she said she and her family now live in a world of fear, grief and turmoil.

“Matthew didn’t just kill Jerry that night,” she said, “he killed me, too.”

Lauer freely admitted that she begged Bureau County deputies to kill Pairadee at the time of the killing, then begged them for the right to do it herself. Since then, she read from her statement, she now hoped Pairadee would serve decades in prison, knowing that “he will be as miserable and scared as I am.”

“Though no sentence will ever bring Jerry back, today represents an important step in holding Matthew Pairadee accountable for the devastation he caused,” the Lauer family said in a statement Friday.