A Columbus man was sentenced to 36 years to life in prison Tuesday after being convicted last week for the aggravated murder of a man whose body was found in Alum Creek in 2021.

Timothy J. Baldrick, 44, was in Delaware County Common Pleas Court Tuesday morning to be sentenced for charges of aggravated murder with a firearm specification and murder with a firearm specification, both unclassified felonies; two counts of tampering with evidence, third-degree felonies; and one count of abuse of a corpse a fifth-degree felony. He stood trial last week and was found guilty on all counts on the afternoon of April 14.

Baldrick attended the hearing Tuesday but did not speak or engage with Judge James P. Schuck, his attorneys or prosecutors, and he kept his head down on the table for the entirety of the hearing, even as Schuck handed down his prison sentence.

At the hearing, First Assistant Prosecutor Mark Sleeper went over Baldrick’s case and said that on June 22, 2021, Baldrick murdered his friend and neighbor Timothy “Scottie” Marcum, 37, by shooting him three times, including an “execution style” shot down on Marcum while he was on the ground. Sleeper said Baldrick covered Marcum’s body with a tarp and hid it for two days in his yard as he purchase “a body disposal kit.”

Sleeper said Baldrick stripped Marcum’s body and put it in a rubber tote before cutting holes in the tote and dumping it in Alum Creek, where it was discovered by a kayaker on June 28, 2021.

Sleeper said the murder was captured on video and described Baldrick’s demeanor during the crime as “cold, calculated and callous.”

“(He has) a complete and utter lack of remorse,” Sleeper said during the hearing on Tuesday.

Marcum’s former girlfriend and the mother of his child, Kristina Riggs, spoke at the hearing and said Baldrick robbed her 8-year-old son of a life with his father, who Riggs said was “not perfect but a great guy.”

“The only way (he can) remember his father is an urn with his ashes,” Riggs said.

A family friend of Marcum, Melissa Burgoon, spoke at the hearing on behalf of herself and Marcum’s mother, who was too ill to attend. Burgoon described Marcum as a “kind (and) loving” man and asked for the maximum sentence for Baldrick.

“How could you do this to a human being?” Burgoon asked Baldrick during the hearing.

Sleeper asked Schuck for a sentence of 30 years to life in prison without the possibility of parole, adding Marcum’s family “are living life sentences” as a result of Baldrick’s actions.

Baldrick’s attorney, Paul L. Scarsella, said his heart went out to Marcum’s son, and there were “no winners” at the hearing. Scarsella asked Schuck to give Baldrick the chance at parole so he could possibly be released one day, but he added that unless Baldrick engages with the legal process, he will never be released.

“He will die in prison unless he makes decisions — it’s up to him,” Scarsella said. “If he goes to prison and acts like he’s been acting this week, then he’s probably never going to get out.”

Schuck said he reviewed all the sentences handed down in similar aggravated murder cases in the county over the last 30 years, and the majority included a chance at parole. However, Schuck said he was aggravated by Baldrick’s conduct during the trial.

“I have been, perhaps more than any other case I’ve had, frustrated with the defendant because of what I viewed as games,” Schuck said. He added Baldrick talked with his family and deputies casually before the trial but was unresponsive on the first day. Schuck said Baldrick later sat up and paid attention to the trial on subsequent days before returning to being unresponsive at the sentencing hearing.

Schuck added psychiatric experts determined Baldrick did not have a mental health issue, and it seems Baldrick “will speak to some people and not to others.”

“I don’t know what to take (from) that,” Schuck said. “But certainly it’s not an indication of any type of remorse or acceptance of responsibility.”

Ultimately, Schuck sentenced Baldrick to 30 years to life in prison with the possibility of parole for the aggravated murder charge, which merged with the murder charge at sentencing. The two murder charges each carried firearm specifications, which add a mandatory three years in prison, which Schuck said will be served prior to the 30-to-life sentence. Schuck also sentenced Baldrick to three years in prison for the merged tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse charges, but he said those sentences will be served concurrent with the life sentence.

Schuck credited Baldrick the 654 days he has spent in custody since his arrest in 2021, and he said Baldrick has 30 days to file an appeal.

Baldrick was in the Delaware County Jail Tuesday awaiting transport to prison.

Glenn Battishill can be reached at 740-413-0903 or on Twitter @BattishillDG.