News

Champaign judge gives man 52 years for killing ex-girlfriend

Posted January 22, 2015 10:00 pm

The Associated Press

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) - A Champaign County judge has sentenced a 34-year-old man to 52 years in prison for stabbing and strangling his former girlfriend to death.

The News-Gazette (http://bit.ly/1AYmAbE ) reports that Darmel Smith was sentenced Thursday in the death of 30-year-old Sheena Williams, a mother of two boys now ages 13 and 9. Family members found Williams dead in her Champaign home on Sept. 6, 2013.

Champaign County Circuit Judge Heidi Ladd called Smith's actions "cold, detached, and chilling" and said he showed "not one iota of remorse or regret or apology."

Smith will receive credit for 14 months already served in the Champaign County jail. His attorney had requested a 20-year term, while prosecutors asked for 60 years.

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Information from: The News-Gazette, http://www.news-gazette.com

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