SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
December 20th 1990
John visits his friend Sheila’s house in Bucks County, Pennsylvania to help her prepare for the arrival of her son, Barry, from Florida the next day. They wait for Sheila’s daughter, Sharon, to arrive, but Sharon never comes.
John leaves at around 5PM to give his friend Rodney a ride to work. Rodney tells him that he’s not going to work but he needs a ride to pick up his check the next morning. John agrees to come back the next day. He returns to the apartment, having spent around an hour at Rodney’s house.
At some point that afternoon/evening, Sheila is killed by being hit in the head with a trophy and stabbed several times. According to witness testimony, Sharon Ginsberg is seen exiting her mother’s apartment with blood on her hands and carrying a wad of cash, which she used later to buy drugs.
Photo: Sheila Ginsberg’s apartment (all lower windows).
December 21st 1990
Sheila’s son, Barry, arrives the following evening at around 7:30 PM to discover the body of his mother. He calls the police. The body is brought to the coroner’s office, where the scissors are removed from her chest. However, the scissors were never tested for prints.
June 20th 1991
Six months later, John is arrested for the murder of his friend Sheila Ginsberg. The probable cause for John’s arrest states that he is in possession of the murder weapon, which is impossible since it was impaled in Sheila’s chest when she went to the coroner’s office. John is arrested based on a claim by Sharon Ginsberg that she overheard John confessing to the murder. Sharon claims this after being arrested for the possession of drugs (crack cocaine and marijuana among others). After telling the police of John’s supposed guilt, Sharon is paroled after only six days.
July 24th 1992
John is convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole in a state prison in Pennsylvania.
For a full sequence of events, check out the below document: