BY STACI WILSON

An Ararat Twp. man will spend 10-30 years in prison for the Aug. 31, 2012 execution-style murder of his estranged wife in the driveway of the couple’s Way Lake Rd. home.

Donald Glover Sr., 52, was sentenced by President Judge Kenneth Seamans Thursday afternoon following the emotional testimony of his family and friends and pleas for mercy.

Judge Seamans said, “I am not of the mindset to allow an ‘open season’ on spouses.”

Glover pleaded guilty Sept. 4 in Susquehanna County Court to the third degree murder of Sharon Glover.

In court Thursday, Glover said, “No one can judge me any harder than I do myself. My mind snapped and I killed my wife.”

“If I could exchange my life for Sharon’s, I would,” he continued. He told the court they had been together for over 30 years. “We were supposed to grow old together.”

Speaking to the effect the murder has had on his family Glover said, “I have forever changed their lives. I can’t make it up to them. I failed and I am so sorry.”

The court also heard testimony from several family and friends, including Sharon Glover’s mother, who described Donald Glover Sr. as a hard-working and loving family man and asked the court for leniency in the sentencing.
Glover’s children, including son Donald Glover Jr. who was implicated in the crime, became emotional on the stand.

Prior to his father’s hearing, Glover Jr. was sentenced to serve 24 months probation for tampering with evidence in the case.

Glover Jr. admitted to placing a gun in Sharon Glover’s left hand in an attempt to make the shooting look like it had been done in self defense.
Several other family and friends in the courtroom openly sobbed during the hearing.

One daughter said her father was a very loving man who would “never hurt anyone.”

“But he did,” the judge said. “He killed your mother.”

She told the court that Glover was an “emotional wreck” after Sharon left him several months prior to the shooting.

She said, “This tragedy is not something we will forget or get over,” adding she felt as if she had lost both parents.

Sharon’s mother, Gladys Klein, also asked the court to show leniency.
“I love him with all my heart. I hope others can forgive him, too,” Klein said.

Directing her statement to her son-in-law Klein said, “Donald, I love you and always will.”

“I love you to, Mom,” he answered.

On the stand, another daughter described the shooting as “a horrible tragedy – a nightmare no one could undo.”

“I know he can’t come home today but please let him come home as soon as possible,” she said.

A psychiatrist also took the stand and testified that after interviewing Glover and reviewing court documents, he believed Glover was “not insane” at the time of the shooting, but was in a state of “diminished capacity.”
Defense attorney Joseph McGraw said the number of people who stepped forward on Glover’s behalf were a powerful testament.

He said that since the shooting Glover has taken responsibility for his wife’s death.

“He has to live with this for the rest of his life,” McGraw said. “That’s a sentence the court has no control over.”

Two of Sharon Glover’s sisters offered testimony for the prosecution.

The first described Sharon as a loving sister, mother, grandmother and friend. “He took that life away. He took everything away from her. He took our happiness and gave us pain,” she said.

“I’m here for my sister,” she said. “He executed her for selfish, jealous reasons.”

Sharon’s other sister said all of the things family members had said about Donald could have also been said about Sharon.

She asked the court to “show the same mercy on her murderer as he showed my sister.”

She asked the court to impose the maximum sentence, 20-40 years, on Glover. “He deserves no less,” she said adding, “And Don, I will always hate you.”
District Attorney Jason Legg said the death of Sharon Glover was not a tragedy. “It was murder,” he told the court.

He said the murder was not a spontaneous event but something that had been “brewing for a long time.”

Legg noted that in a statement to police Donald Glover Jr. said that on two occasions prior to the shooting his father threatened he would kill his mother with a .38-caliber handgun.

Legg said Sharon Glover wanted out of the marriage. “This is a tale of a husband who couldn’t let go,” he said.

The district attorney also openly questioned his decision accept the third degree murder plea instead of pursuing a first degree murder conviction.
He said he reached his decision to allow for the murder three in part because of the pleas of his family.

“I’m not necessarily certain I made the right decision,” Legg said. “He will have the chance to come home.”

Legg asked the court to impose the maximum sentence.

Judge Seamans said, “I don’t think the court should compound tragedy but the court should not condone an ‘open season’ on spouses.”

“None of us can hide from what has occurred,” the judge added. He also said he gave credence to the fact that the killing was carried out “execution-style.”