Man gets 16 years for wife's murder
A former Elmhurst man was sentenced Friday to 16 years in prison for killing his wife during a violent struggle.
Nancy Palumbo died of suffocation July 2, 2005, the night before the couple and their toddler were to leave for a beach vacation.
The violence that erupted inside their home at 581 S. Poplar sparked an intense police investigation to uncover the truth and a heart-wrenching court battle.
It ended Friday when John Svenstrup, 45, was sentenced for second-degree murder. He pleaded guilty Sept. 20 after prosecutors reduced the charge and set a maximum 20-year possible prison term.
In exchange, the former Naperville financial adviser relinquished his parental rights to the couple's son, Johnny, who will be 6 next month. He is being raised by his mother's brother, David Palumbo, in Barrington.
The sentence is a bitter pill for the slain woman's family to swallow, but they are relieved Svenstrup is out of Johnny's life -- for now.
"We thought there was a strong case for first-degree murder, but we have to accept it and go forward," Fred Palumbo of Huntley said of the death of his beloved middle child. "We just have to look down the road and take care of Johnny."
Svenstrup must serve just half the 16-year term. He cannot contact Johnny for four years afterward. Prosecutors warned they will re-indict him for first-degree murder if he tries.
Svenstrup said his wife, Nancy, 42, attacked him in a fury, and he accidentally suffocated her while restraining her. DuPage Circuit Judge Michael Burke said that version is unbelievable.
For example, Palumbo had numerous injuries, including broken teeth, while Svenstrup was unscathed but for some scratches. He accused her of biting him, but no marks were left.
"He lied repeatedly to police to avoid justice," Burke said. "The defendant took this child's mother away from him. He will never again have his mother's affection, love and care."
The judge continued: "There certainly was a struggle in that house. How exactly it happened, I'll never know. But it is clear she had significant bruises and injuries on her body that were caused by the defendant's own hands."
Prosecutors said Svenstrup drugged Palumbo, slammed her face into the kitchen counter, then pinned her to the floor and smothered her. A toxicology report found traces of GHB, a date-rape drug, in her system.
But defense attorney Terry Ekl argued Svenstrup stood a good chance at acquittal had the case gone to trial. Palumbo did not have fatal physical injuries. There were conflicting medical opinions. Ekl argued Palumbo choked on her own vomit.
Her family said Palumbo planned to divorce Svenstrup, who abused alcohol and drugs, but wanted to wait until her son was old enough to talk and tell her if there was a problem when he was alone with his father.
"By requiring that the defendant give up his parental rights," Birkett said, "we have honored Nancy Palumbo's wish that her son not be raised by an abusive alcoholic drug user."
Svenstrup called 911 at 10:45 p.m. July 2, 2005, to report he found her unresponsive in their kitchen. He told police she was electrocuted -- an explanation he admits concocting out of fear.
Palumbo, a Barrington High School graduate, was a successful director of orthopedics at DuPage Medical Group in Glen Ellyn.
Her family thanked authorities for their work, especially Elmhurst police detectives John Tarpey and Mike Campise.
Her parents, Fred and Mary Anne, and siblings, David and Diane Palumbo-Kellett, told Judge Burke of their tremendous loss. The court case may be over, but they said their loss is eternal.