Northlake man pleads guilty to fatally stabbing, assaulting ex-girlfriend
A Northlake man charged in the 2012 stabbing death of his ex-girlfriend in her Woodridge apartment has pleaded guilty to the slaying.
Adam Belmont, 26, entered blind pleas of guilty Monday to one count of first-degree murder and one count of aggravated criminal sexual assault.
Charges of home invasion, aggravated criminal sexual abuse and abuse of a corpse were then dropped. He now faces between 26 and 90 years in prison on the consecutive counts.
Sources said Belmont first expressed his desire to plead guilty late Friday, two days before his jury trial was set to begin in the slaying of Alyssa Van Meter, 25, late on Dec. 15, 2012, inside the Woodridge apartment they once shared.
Prosecutors said Belmont scaled the building to break into the second-story unit at about 9 p.m. Once inside the apartment Belmont choked his ex-girlfriend until she was unconscious. After choking Van Meter, Belmont then stabbed her one time in the chest, piercing her heart. After stabbing Van Meter, Belmont sexually assaulted her several times before he fled.
"This afternoon, Adam Belmont took sole responsibility for the murder of Alyssa Van Meter," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a written statement. "While his admission of guilt in this horrific case will not bring Alyssa back to those who loved her and miss her, perhaps it will help them begin to gain some measure of closure in this horrible chapter of their lives."
Belmont's next court appearance is scheduled for June 15 for return of the pre-sentence report. His sentencing date is scheduled for June 23. He has been held without bail since his arrest.