Ohio man accused of decapitating adoptive mother says ‘She was the devil’

MARIETTA, Ohio — A southern Ohio man accused of killing his adoptive mother last week allegedly claimed the Holy Spirit told him she was the devil, authorities said.

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Lionel Justin Gore, 34, of New Matamoras, was charged with the murder of Diane Gore at a home on Nov. 5, WJW reported.

According to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, deputies received a 911 call about a structure fire at about 6:20 p.m. EST on Nov. 6, The Marietta Times reported. The scene was known to be Diane Gore’s residence, the newspaper reported.

Detectives met with Diane Gore’s sister, Stephanie Williams, who stated that when she arrived at the home, Lionel Gore came running out of the residence and told her to “get out of the way or I’ll kill you next,” before fleeing the scene in a vehicle, according to an arrest affidavit.

Williams was unable to enter the home because of the fire, the Times reported.

Williams said she attempted to go into the home to locate Diane, but could not because of the fire, the affidavit stated.

According to the affidavit, detectives spoke with Lionel Gore’s 6-year-old nephew, who said he saw his uncle cutting Diane Gore’s neck with a small knife and then a larger one, the Times reported.

The boy said Lionel Gore set the home on fire, adding that he had to crawl out of the dwelling because of the smoke, according to the newspaper.

Firefighters extinguished the blaze and found Diane Gore’s body in an upstairs bedroom, WJW reported. She had been decapitated.

While firefighters worked to put out the fire, Lionel Gore got into a vehicle and drove across the Ohio River into nearby West Virginia, where he allegedly struck two Wetzel County Sheriff’s Office vehicles before he was apprehended, the Times reported.

Detective Sgt. Scott Smeeks said he and Detective Lt. Bryan Lockhart went to an area hospital to speak with Lionel Gore, the newspaper reported. According to an affidavit, Lionel Gore told detectives that “I cut her head off and set her on fire,” adding that he killed the woman because the Holy Spirit instructed him to do so because “she was the devil.”

Lionel Gore was being held in the Wetzel County Jail on a charge of fleeing with reckless indifference, according to online booking records.

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