HOWLAND, Ohio (WKBN) – A Howland woman who is one of Ohio’s most infamous killers is up for a parole hearing in October.

Marie Poling’s parole eligibility begins anew in December 2022. A hearing to determine her status is scheduled for October.

Poling is serving a life sentence at the Marysville Reformatory for Women for the 1988 shooting death of her husband Richard while he was sleeping on the couch inside their Howland home.

According to case records, Poling recruited her lover Rafael Garcia Jr. to help get rid of the body. They rented a truck, cut off the victim’s head and dumped the body in Washington, Pennsylvania.

An investigator at the time said it was the worst crime he had ever seen.

Poling’s story has been the subject of a book and crime film productions.

Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins has vehemently opposed Poling’s release over the years, dubbing her the “black widow,” in his letters to the parole board.

Poling was convicted of her husband’s murder in August 1988 and was sentenced to life in prison on a charge of aggravated murder and abuse of a corpse.

Garcia served 13 years for his role in the crime and was released in 2001.

Poling has three children and is 63 years old.