Police: Pike man who stabbed grandmother, set body on fire believed she was the devil
A Pike County man allegedly stabbed his grandmother, set her on fire and told Pennsylvania State Police troopers that he believed that she was the devil.
George F. Sisco, 28, of Milford, is charged with criminal homicide in the death of Margie S. Finlay, 67, of Milford, according to a news release from PSP Troop R.
According to the criminal complaint, when Milford Fire Department Assistant Chief Eric Passaro arrived at 108 Oak Court in Milford Township at 11:45 a.m. Friday for a reported structure fire, he found a family member of Finlay’s repeating “He set her on fire. I saw my mother on fire.” When Passaro went to search for victims, he encountered Sisco, who allegedly said that “she was the devil, I had to do it,” and threatened to kill anyone who came inside the home.
Passaro asked family members if there were weapons inside, was told there were, and ordered a retreat until law enforcement arrived. Firefighters entered after the Pike County Sheriff’s Office arrived and found Finlay deceased with knife wounds and burns.
When interviewed by state troopers, Sisco allegedly said that he had believed for seven months that his grandmother was the devil. On Friday morning, the complaint says, he saw her “putting flea medication on her cat which he believed was poisoning the cat” and he “had to take action.”
Sisco allegedly hit Finlay before slashing her throat and stabbing her. He told troopers that he read in the Bible that “in order to kill the devil, he must use the holy spirit and fire,” according to the complaint, so he lit a kitchen rag on fire, put it on Finlay’s body and said the Lord’s Prayer while it spread.
Sisco also faces felony charges of aggravated assault, aggravated arson and arson endangering property, and misdemeanor charges of terroristic threats and possession of an instrument of crime.
Kathryne Rubright is the managing editor of the Pocono Record and the Tri-County Independent. Reach her at krubright@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Pike County man charged with homicide in grandmother's death
