Pa. man sentenced for killing his grandma and setting her house on fire over cat's flea medication
05/12/2025 4:06 pm PDT
MILFORD, Pa. (TCN) -- A 29-year-old man will spend decades in prison for killing his grandmother and lighting her house on fire last year.
Pike County District Attorney Ray Tonkin said in a May 12 news release that George Sisco pleaded guilty but mentally ill to third-degree murder, arson endangering persons, and terroristic threats. A judge subsequently sentenced Sisco to 23 ½ to 60 years in state prison and ordered him to pay a fine of $2,500.
According to prosecutors, on April 26, 2024, Milford Fire personnel responded to Margie Finlay's home for a fire call. At the scene, the assistant chief found Sisco at the front of the home with blood on his clothes. When asked if he was injured, Sisco reportedly refused to respond.
Tonkin said Sisco then "made his way further into the residence, threatening anyone who tried to enter." The fire department eventually made entry and extinguished the flames before locating Finlay deceased in the kitchen area. An autopsy later revealed she died of sharp force and blunt force injuries.
Sisco reportedly confessed to killing his grandmother and starting the fire, "saying the flea medication she was putting on the cat was harmful."
In a statement, Tonkin said, "There are no winners here. The loved ones of Margie Finlay deeply grieve their loss, and that can never be fully repaired."
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