Nicole L. Schwartz

A former co-defendant of a man found guilty of homicide in the June 2022 death of an Ohio man in Muddy Creek Township was sentenced Wednesday to prison.

Nicole Schwartz, 39, of Ellwood City, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit third-degree murder and was sentenced to serve 9 to 20 years in state prison, followed by five years of probation, for the June 11 death of Frederick Orr, 32, of Columbus.

Schwartz was the main witness in the weeklong jury trial last week against Daniel C. Lloyd, 21, of Pitcairn, who was found guilty of homicide. He is scheduled to be sentenced June 20. Her case was severed from Lloyd’s, and she testified for the prosecution after accepting the plea agreement.

Schwartz did not speak before Judge Timothy McCune imposed the sentence. McCune said he received a victim impact statement from Orr’s sister. The statement was not read aloud. No family members of Schwartz or Orr attended the sentencing hearing.

Public defender Kimberly Hudak said Schwartz feels remorse, and she tried to help by cooperating with the prosecution.

The sentence includes $8,479 in restitution. Most of the money is for Orr’s funeral expenses, said Ben Simon, assistant district attorney, who prosecuted the case.

State police charged Schwartz and Lloyd in Orr’s shooting death.

Simon argued that Lloyd hid in the back of an SUV owned and driven by Schwartz when she picked up Orr after he was released from the Butler County Prison on June 10, 2022, and shot Orr early June 11.

Orr’s body was found with three gunshot wounds — two in the back and one in the back of his head — along Kelly Road between East Portersville and Yellow Creek roads in the township.

Schwartz testified last week that she sold drugs for Orr, but she used the crack cocaine and spent the $3,000 he stashed with her before he went to jail and that she began a relationship with Lloyd while Orr was incarcerated.

Simon argued that Lloyd wanted to replace Orr as a drug dealer in Butler.

Schwartz said Orr had been trying to contact her from the jail and she suspected he was trying to get released. Orr reached her June 10 and said he wanted to be picked up immediately, she said.

Schwartz said she managed to stall Orr while she met with one of her brothers, his girlfriend and Lloyd at a motel. She said she wanted to stay in a hotel for the weekend to avoid Orr, but agreed with the plan to kill Orr that was “already decided.”

With Lloyd hiding in the back of her SUV, Schwartz picked up Orr and, as they were driving from Butler toward the township, state police pulled them over for an expired registration, according to testimony.

Neither trooper saw anyone else in the SUV, which had tinted rear windows, and let Schwartz go with a warning, according to testimony.

When they arrived at a spring along Kelly Road, Schwartz said she told Orr she heard a noise coming from the engine, got out of the vehicle, opened the hood and asked Orr to help her.

She said the plan was to shoot him outside the vehicle, but he refused to get out of the car. Moments later, she said she heard gunshots. Lloyd then pushed Orr out of the SUV and onto the street, she said.

A security camera at a nearby home recorded the sound of six gunshots.