DuPage Co man gets 30 years for killing mother

After finding his wife slain in their home, David Newcomer identified a son who had a history of mental illness and violence as the likely killer.

Still, despite the tremendous loss, the father said he drew upon his faith to forgive the son he still loves. He sat feet away from him Wednesday in court as the sad criminal case came to a close.

Cliff W. Newcomer, 27, was sentenced to 30 years in prison after he pleaded guilty but mentally ill to the Jan. 13, 2006, murder of his mother inside their home near Wheaton.

"The main thing is, Cliff and my wife were best friends," said David Newcomer, who also described a sometimes tumultuous relationship between the two. "Me and his mother still love him."

The plea deal before DuPage Circuit Judge Blanche Hill Fawell means Newcomer will receive treatment while housed in a state prison with other inmates with mental illnesses. He must serve the entire 30-year term before being paroled.

A shackled Newcomer declined a chance Wednesday to make a statement before being led back to his jail cell. Experts diagnosed him with bipolar and personality disorders.

His father said Newcomer struggled with mental illness since about 3 years old.

"He was a violent kid," David Newcomer said. "We always had problems with him."

Cliff Newcomer admitted he either strangled or suffocated his 55-year-old mother, Marilyn, then slashed her throat after she had died following an argument in their former home on Evans Avenue near the Lincoln Marsh.

David Newcomer returned home from work about 11:45 p.m. and found his wife lying on her back on the living room floor. In his frantic 911 call, he identified his son as the likely suspect.

Police found several bloody knives next to the slain woman's body. The defendant's blood-soaked clothing was located in his bedroom. Authorities issued a nationwide alert for Cliff Newcomer, who was last seen driving his mother's car.

Cliff Newcomer returned home some 14 hours after the manhunt began. He surrendered peacefully.

Prosecutors Michael Pawl and Nancy Wolfe said forensic experts found Cliff Newcomer's palm print in blood on one knife. They said Newcomer also made a murderous threat to this mother just days earlier.

In fact, family members have said Cliff Newcomer threatened his mother for several years. She did not follow through, however, with pursuing charges against him during two prior domestic battery arrests.

David Newcomer said his son had stopped taking his medication before the murder because he was attending the College of DuPage and it made him too drowsy for class. The family regularly visits him in jail.

"Christ says we must forgive everybody," his father said.

The couple was married 33 years and have four sons, including Cliff. He will receive credit off his prison term for the nearly three years he has been in jail while his court case was pending.