Moss Jr. was sentenced just an hour later by Judge Jennifer McElfresh to the mandatory 15 years to life in prison. In exchange for the guilty plea, a tampering with evidence charge was dismissed.
Combs, 41, was found dead in his Cereal Avenue residence on Oct. 29. He was “stabbed numerous times in the head and neck,” according to Butler County Assistant Prosecutor Brad Burress.
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Both Moss Jr. and Combs’ families were in the courtroom for the sentencing.
Moss Jr. gave no statement before sentencing, but his attorney Mary Martin said “he has expressed regret for what happened.”
Combs’ sister Katina Dezarn told the judge that Combs left behind six children, who will grow up without a father.
Kelly Combs, Joshua’s wife and the mother of three of his children, said, “He was a hard worker who provided for his children.”
After the sentencing, Dezarn said, “It was a cowardly act. It wasn’t no self defense. He took a man’s life and I think he got what he deserved.”
She said her brother did not know Moss Jr. prior to the incident and she does not know a motive for her brother’s death.
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Police and prosecutors say Moss Jr. dragged Combs’ body from his Honda Pilot to the home’s kitchen and then covered it with a blanket.
In March, Moss Jr. also pleaded guilty to a robbery at the Riverview Market. The robbery occurred on the same day Combs was found dead. He faces up to eight years in prison on that charge.
Hamilton police say Moss entered the store on North B Street with a pellet gun and demanded money and cigarettes. He was tracked and eventually chased down by police.
“He is a sick man I guess,” Dezarn said. “He will spend every day behind bars because he took a very good man away from this earth and away from six kids.”
Prosecutors agreed the robbery sentence will run concurrent to the murder sentence.
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