Man Sentenced To Life For 2013 Murder Of NSU Professor

A former Broken Arrow man will spend the rest of his life in prison for the murder of a Northeastern State University professor in Tahlequah in 2013.  

Joshua Schneider, 35, who is already in prison for child neglect, eluding and failure to register as a sex offender, was sentenced Monday in Cherokee County court to life without parole in the death of Dr. Tiffany Maher.  

The judge took the recommendation from the jury and sentenced Schneider to three life terms which run consecutively.

In May 2015, a jury found him guilty of murder, larceny and arson.  

5/30/2015 Related Story: Man Found Guilty In Murder Of NSU Professor In 2013

Tahlequah Police said Schneider met Dr. Maher on a dating website. After robbing her, police said he killed Maher and tried to set her house on fire. He was caught in Tulsa out in the woods near 91st and Highway 169 after a nine-day manhunt.   

8/2/2013 Related Story: Ex-Girlfriend Of Suspect In NSU Professor's Murder Talks Of Violence, Fraud

He was also sentenced Monday to life in prison for the larceny and arson convictions. Prosecutors say after he killed Maher, Schneider took many of her belongings - everything from checkbooks to CDs - and tried to sell them at pawn shops.

"I mean in this case, ultimately, a guy like Joshua Schneider was able to infiltrate a normal person living a normal life and take her life," said Assistant District Attorney Jack Thorp. 

"It was gratification there to see the family - the system work and take this guy off the streets for the rest of his life.

Thorp said Maher's parents spoke at his sentencing.

"She had become part of the Tahlequah community," he said of the murder victim. "They talked a little about that impact. I mean, she had a lifetime of higher education.

"She lived to teach, and this Joshua Schneider fellow took that away from the community as well as taking away her life."

Schneider will return to prison in Holdenville where he's already serving time for the police chase in Tulsa.