Mann was convicted of murdering an ex-girlfriend in Summerville in 2021

MONCKS CORNER, SC (WCSC) – A judge has sentenced a Michigan man convicted of murdering a 58-year-old Summerville woman.

Edward Mark Fabian Hannah was convicted of murder, first-degree burglary and first-degree assault after a four-day trial. Judge Thomas Cooper Jr. sentenced him to life in prison for murder and burglary and a maximum of 10 years for assault and battery, according to Heather Speizman, spokeswoman for the Ninth Circuit attorney's office.

The charges stemmed from an attack on Birthener “Joy” Joseph, who had ended a relationship with Hannah and moved from Michigan to Summerville in June 2021.

Prosecutors said Hannah flew in from Michigan and arrived at Joseph's home uninvited on September 2, 2021. He left the house after police called but returned three days later, prosecutors said.

On the night of September 5, 2021, around 3 a.m., he kicked in the back door of the house and broke open the locked door, investigators said. He entered the house and attempted to attack the victim's 12-year-old granddaughter before Jospeh's 13-year-old grandson confronted him.

“He found Ms. Joseph in the hallway and inflicted blunt force trauma on her and stabbed her with a pair of scissors,” Speizman said.

During the attack, the granddaughter was trapped in her bedroom and escaped through her bedroom window. She and her 13-year-old brother, who had rescued their 11-month-old niece from the house, ran to a neighbor's house to call 911, prosecutors said.

Berkeley County officers arrived within minutes, but Hannah had already left the house. Minutes later, he was spotted on Ring camera video nearby and arrested less than a mile away.

Prosecutors said the children identified him as the attacker.

EMS took Joesph to Trident Medical Hospital with life-threatening injuries. She survived the initial attack but suffered permanent brain damage and died on April 28, 2022.

Prosecutors described the murder as “a culmination of abuse by Hannah, who was angry that the victim had broken off the relationship and stopped answering his calls.”

“The evidence presented at trial demonstrated a pattern of stalking and harassing behavior toward the victim and her family,” Speizman said.

During the trial, prosecutors presented evidence from children, first responders, law enforcement, DNA experts, doctors and a forensic cell expert.

Assistant Solicitor Julie Rochester praised the child witnesses in the case.

“The quick thinking and courage of the children in this home not only saved their lives that night, but their testimony in court also helped convict their grandmother's killer,” she said.

The Ninth Circuit Attorney's Office says Hannah has previous convictions from multiple agencies for aggravated assault, robbery with use of a deadly weapon, forcible rape, assault with a deadly weapon, theft, assault, resisting a police officer and assault causing bodily harm.

The state asked Hannah to seek a life sentence without parole for murder and burglary, which the court had to impose once the jury returned a guilty verdict.

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