Man gets life without parole for Antioch murder

Family members of an Antioch woman who was raped and murdered last fall in a Kenosha, Wis., basement cheered Monday when her killer was sentenced to life without parole.

Anthony P. Heard Jr., 19, pleaded guilty Oct. 4 to first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree sexual assault and armed robbery with use of force in the Sept. 23, 2006, murder of Carmen Barranco.

"I think you are a dangerous individual that will act impulsively with little regard to life," Kenosha Circuit Judge Wilbur Warren said. "Carmen Barranco had two children, a 17-year-old girl and a 19-year-old boy. Her parents are devastated. I don't think you've thought about what you've done in respect to these people, only in respect to yourself."

Heard sat handcuffed during the hearing. He fidgeted with his fingers the entire time. When asked if there was anything he had to say, Heard responded, "I ain't got nothing to say."

Barranco's daughter, Stephanie Rutter, was the only family member to speak.

"My mom was taken from us and that is a tragic thing," Rutter said. "I hope whatever happens to Anthony, he remembers the reason he's there is because he took something that was very, very special to us."

In a statement given to the court earlier, Heard said he would not shed a tear during his sentencing.

He didn't.

And as he left the courtroom, he extended his middle finger to people sitting in the gallery, including Barranco's family.

Barranco, 38, met Heard on Sept. 23, 2006, when she went to his mother's Kenosha home looking for his sister. Barranco reportedly asked him if he knew where to buy crack cocaine.

Heard took her to a two-family home where he said she could get drugs. He lured her to the basement and reportedly planned to rob her, but raped her instead.

He has since contended Barranco offered him sex to stop the robbery.

Heard knocked Barranco to the ground, grabbed her hair and hit her head several times on the concrete floor. He struck her several times with a paint can and space heater before strangling her with the heater cord. Several of her teeth were found scattered on the floor, Kenosha police officer Todd Thorne testified Monday.

Kenosha County District Attorney Robert Zapf asked Warren to show Heard the same mercy he had shown Barranco.

"This is one of the most brutal, heinous murders I've had the occasion to prosecute in my 32 years," Zapf said. "When I looked at this individual and his history, I said that's why we have prison. There is no rehabilitation for this defendant."

Johnie Lawrence, a welfare specialist with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, detailed Heard's life. It included being born addicted to drugs, a father shot to death in a Chicago gang fight, a mother in prison for drugs and an introduction at the age of 4 to foster care.

Lawrence said Heard had several stays in psychiatric hospitals and treatment centers for sexually abused children, often only to be released back into sexually abusive homes.

"It is very easy to say, 'Throw him away forever there is no hope for this kid,' but that's just it: He's just a kid," said defense attorney Richard Hart. "Age is a great mitigator of conduct. Down the road this may be able to rectify itself."

Unconvinced, Warren sentenced Heard to life without parole for the homicide. A consecutive sentence of 25 years for the sexual assault and 20 years for the armed robbery charge will follow.

Heard was also sentenced to seven and five years for two charges of battery he committed while in jail for Barranco's murder.

Warren said given his childhood and history of violence -- including a 2002 rape of a 7-year-old boy -- Heard followed his destiny.

"When it comes to sexual gratification, you don't have any concerns who you victimize," Warren said. "When things don't go your way, your first reaction is violence. You sat here today, the entire time picking your nails and looking bored. That tells me you don't care. I'm concerned someone else will suffer at your hands because you don't care."