DAYTON — The man accused of killing a local couple with a sledgehammer will spend more than two decades in prison.
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On Monday, 34-year-old Cortney Lowe of Dayton was sentenced to a total of 25 years to life in prison after being convicted of the beating deaths of a Dayton couple on Dec. 3, 2024.
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As previously reported by News Center 7, in the early hours of the morning on Dec. 3, 2024, Dayton Police officers were dispatched to Wayne Ave on reports of a suspicious person.
The man, identified as Lowe, was walking around without any shoes and only wearing a t-shirt and thermal underwear. He was covered in blood.
When officers asked about the blood, Lowe told them it belonged to Cathy Bell.
Officers then responded to a residence in the 1400 block of Holly Ave, where 64-year-old Cathy Bell and her husband, 67-year-old Danny Bell, were both found beaten to death.
Lowe was indicted on multiple counts of murder and felonious assault on Dec. 10, 2024.
He was found guilty of two counts of murder and one count of aggravated burglary causing physical harm on June 4, 2025.
Along with the prison sentence, Low was designated as a Violent Offender and will be listed on the state’s Violent Offender Registry.
“The brutal murders of Cathy and Danny Bell were senseless, and this violent and dangerous defendant should never be let out of prison,” Montgomery County Prosecutor Matt Heck said.
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