Joliet man pleads guilty to killing mother, dumping body
Posted June 13, 2017 7:00 am
JOLIET, Ill. (AP) - A Joliet man has pleaded guilty to charges that he choked his mother to death in 2013 and dumped her body in a river.
The Will County State's Attorney's office says 36-year-old Shane Smith pleaded guilty to first-degree murder on Monday in the death of Joan Smith. He entered the plea as jury section was about to begin in his trial.
As part of the plea, prosecutors won't recommend a prison sentence longer than 35 years when Smith returns to court for sentencing.
The slaying stemmed from an argument between Smith and his mother over her refusal to let Smith's wife move into her house with them. Prosecutors say Smith killed his mother, put her body in a garbage bag and dumped it in the Des Plaines River.
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