ELYRIA — A jury found Frank Honaker guilty of murder and felonious assault today for shooting his wife’s lover outside her Lorain apartment on Dec. 13.

Honaker, 46, will be sentenced to 18 years to life in prison at a hearing set for Monday afternoon.

The jury cleared Honaker of aggravated murder and an additional count of murder that alleged he had planned to kill Christopher Betts when he and his two children drove to the apartment the night of the shooting. If he had been convicted of aggravated murder, Honaker could have been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

When he took the stand Thursday, Honaker didn’t deny shooting Betts, 37, but insisted that he had killed him in a fit of sudden fit of rage. Honaker’s attorney, Jack Bradley, had asked the jury to convict Honaker of voluntary manslaughter, which would have sent him to prison for a maximum of 10 years.

Honaker, his family and Betts’ family sat silently as the verdict was read and left the Lorain County Justice Center without comment.

For more details on this story, see Saturday’s Chronicle.

 

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