George Brinkman to appear before three-judge panel on tossed murder convictions

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - George Brinkman returned to the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas on Wednesday morning ahead of his hearing next week before a three-judge panel for the murders of a North Royalton woman and her two daughters.

Last summer, the Ohio Supreme Court threw out the convictions and death sentence against Brinkman, stating that the 2018 trial judge did not properly advise Brinkman of his rights before he pleaded guilty.

Brinkman confessed to the June 2017 murders of 45-year-old Suzanne Taylor and her daughters, 21-year-old Taylor and 18-year-old Kylie Pifer, just a few days after their murders.

He had been friends with Taylor since elementary school.

Wednesday was the first time Brinkman appeared in court in person, instead of remotely, since he won his appeal.

He waived his right to a jury trial.

“It was agonizing again having to see him, and I think he’s a horrible person,” said Ken Taylor, Suzanne’s brother.

Taylor has been re-living the nightmare of what happened again ever since Brinkman’s conviction was thrown out.

A three-judge panel will hear the case again next week and all original witnesses and investigators have been subpoenaed to testify for a second time.

Brinkman is expected to plead guilty again and then he will be sentenced by the judges.

We asked Taylor what he wants people to remember about his family.

“That they were beautiful people, that the world is missing three angels. And I loved them very much,” he said.

Brinkman was also found guilty of killing a Start County couple. That conviction stands.

An execution date was set for September 2026 in that case, but that’s on hold right now after Brinkman’s stay of execution was granted.

Brinkman is expected in court for the triple murder case November 9.

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