After attempting to place blame on his 14-year-old nephew, a man has been found guilty of killing five members of his ex-wife's family and sentenced to five consecutive life sentences, with an additional 80 years tacked on by the judge, as reported by the Huffington Post.
Judge Scott Drazewski also denied the man's motion for a new trial.
C.H., 34, allegedly beat all five family members to death in their home in Beason, Illinois on September 21, 2009. Following a month-long trial, he was convicted this past May. The only family member C.H. admitted to killing was his nephew, D.C., as C.H. claimed that he was only trying to stop the boy from murdering his own family.
C.H. told reporters that he was innocent and only admitted that he "made a lot of stupid, stupid decisions that night but I did not commit this crime, and that's all I have to say."
Along with first-degree murder, C.H. was also found guilty and sentenced for armed robbery and home invasion.
T.G., who was three years old when beaten by C.H. in the attack, gave this statement to be read aloud in court, "I am seven and it still breaks my heart and I wish you were dead and my brothers and sister and Mommy and Daddy were alive."
C.H.'s former wife, N.C, also wrote a letter that was read in court. She claimed to have changed the name of C.H.'s son – a newborn during the killings – and had promised never to reveal to C.H. what the boy's name now is.
C.H.'s brother, J.H., testified in court against him. J.H. said that he heard sounds coming from the home that made him ill. He said the sounds were from C.H. beating his former mother-in-law and her three children with a tire iron. He heard a woman scream as if in "a horror film" and a noise like a bowling ball hitting the ground.
N.G., C.H.'s ex, is the surviving daughter. The pair had reconciled only to break up again – days before the murders.
C.H. admitted to consuming alcohol, smoking marijuana and using cocaine the evening of the killings. He told the court that he went to his former mother-in-law's home to buy marijuana. Once he arrived, he saw his former in-laws and one child badly injured or already dead.
That's when C.H. allegedly fought his young nephew, D.C.
However, J.H. told the court that he believed that the sole reason his brother went to the house that night was do have sex with another, minor-aged, family member. J.H. then told the court that he saw C.H. hitting D.C. with the tire iron. And later, C.H. admitted to J.H. that he had killed the others after killing D.C. C.H. allegedly told J.H., "I (messed) up. I killed them all."
Whether charged with one criminal act or several, do yourself a favor and contact a criminal defense attorney for help right away!
