Downstate man sentenced to 9 years for beating death

MARION, Ill. -- A Marion man who pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in last June's beating death of another man should spend nine years in prison.

That's the ruling from Williamson County Judge John Speroni in the case of 41-year-old Scott Winchester.

Speroni says Winchester's criminal past includes battery charges and that makes him a continued danger. The judge says imprisonment is necessary to protect the public.

Authorities say 25-year-old David Dudman apparently had a previous relationship with Winchester's girlfriend and that may have led to the fight.

Investigators say Dudman was hit and kicked during the altercation. He died the next day at a hospital.