Poison used by an Ohio woman to "surprise" her ex-husband was sent to her by her South African lover, who will now serve 18 years for his alleged involvement in Timothy Hovanec's death.
Anthony Theodorou, 36, was originally scheduled for sentencing on Tuesday before Judge James Knepp II in the U.S. District Court for Northern Ohio, but it was postponed to Thursday after sentencing hearings for Amanda Hovanec, the victim's wife who was romantically involved with Theodorou, and her mother, Anita Green, each took about six hours, filling the entire day.
Theodorou was sentenced on charges of conspiracy to import a controlled substance, importation of a controlled substance, conspiracy with intent to distribute a controlled substance, and distribution of a controlled substance, that sentence having been reduced from a potential life sentence thanks to a plea agreement, according to LimaOhio.
Judge Knepp II made it clear to Theodorou that despite his drug charges, it was all still centered around the murder of Timothy Hovanec.
"Make no mistake. You participated in a murder," he told Theodorou.
"This is a murder case masquerading as a drug case."
The drug charges against Theodorou are based on his sending etorphine, a Schedule II controlled substance, to Amanda Hovanec in 2022, intending for her to use it to kill her husband amid their divorce and child custody battle.
All three were ordered to pay a joint restitution totaling $2,108,559.36.
On Tuesday, Amanda Hovanec, 37, was sentenced to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to several charges.
A dash camera recorded the murder as the April 2022 attack was unfolding, after Hovanec's husband dropped off their three daughters at her home in Wapakoneta, Ohio.
Authorities would later recover the footage from Timothy's abandoned car in Dayton, Ohio, after he was reported missing when he failed to check out of his hotel.
Hovanec and her mother, Anita Green, can be seen waiting outside near the garage as she walks towards Timothy's car and tells the couple's daughters, "I have a surprise for you inside."
Amanda then injected her husband with the poison and disposed of his body in nearby woods.
Green received a prison sentence of 10 years and one month.
The three were also ordered to jointly pay restitution totaling $2,108,559.36.
