The man convicted of killing an elderly Urbana man more than 12 years ago has been sentenced to prison.

Josiah Mathews, 32, of Springfield, is headed to prison for the brutal murder of 87-year-old Louis Taylor in 2011, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced on Thursday.

Mathews was sentenced Thursday morning in Champaign County Common Pleas Court to 25 years to life, including 15 years to life for murder and 10 years for aggravated robbery. He will serve the sentences consecutively, meaning that he won’t be eligible for parole for 25 years.

Judge Dennis Langer presided over the case after Champaign County Common Pleas Court Judge Nick Selvaggio recused himself. Selvaggio was the Champaign County Prosecutor when Taylor’s death occurred in 2011.

The sentencing follows Mathews’ October 2022 conviction by a Champaign County jury. Evidence in the case showed that on Oct. 24, 2011, Mathews entered the northeast Urbana home of Taylor on Dorothy Moore Drive and assaulted him, causing severe blunt-force injuries, including multiple skull fractures. Taylor was hospitalized and died 24 days later.

“The victim died before he could lead us to his attacker, but determined investigators made sure he got justice,” Yost said in a prepared statement. “The community is safer with this cold-blooded killer off the streets.”

After the assault, Mathews stole Taylor’s wedding ring and vehicle, which was later found abandoned in a parking lot in Springfield. Investigators discovered Mathews’ fingerprints on the vehicle’s exterior and also learned that Mathews had checked into a nearby hotel.

An analysis of Mathews’ phone showed that he was in the area prior to the assault before turning his phone off for three hours. Witnesses testified that Mathews bragged about having been in the area to find someone to rob. Others testified that Mathews tried to sell the stolen vehicle and wedding ring.

The Urbana Police Division investigated the case, the Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation performed lab work and attorneys with Yost’s Special Prosecutions Section prosecuted the case.

Some information for this report was provided by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s office.