Antioch man sentenced to 50 years for grandmother's murder

An Antioch man who murdered his grandmother in 2008 and then set her ablaze to cover up the crime will spend 50 years in prison, a Lake County judge decided Wednesday.

Jeremy Lowrey, 23, sat emotionless as Associate Judge Theodore Potkonjak announced the verdict. On the other side of the courtroom, however, his mother wept.

Lowrey faced up to 60 years in prison. Prosecutors didn't seek the death penalty, and he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in December.

Lowrey choked, hit and stabbed his grandmother, 68-year-old Jeanie Lowrey of Round Lake Beach, in May 2008. He flew into a rage, authorities said, after she told him she was going to tell police he had stolen some of her checks.

Lowrey set her body ablaze and left the house, according to a video-recorded confession aired in court Wednesday. After committing the murder, he dumped his clothes in a Wisconsin garbage bin and then went shopping at an area Walmart with a credit card stolen from his grandmother, he told police investigators.

Lowrey was arrested two days after the murder. A knife, a cane and a glass ashtray used in the attack were found wrapped inside a towel inside Jeanie Lowrey's house, authorities said.

As part of the recorded confession was played in court, Lowrey sat silent at his table, his fingers plugging his ears and his eyes closed. He opened his eyes and dropped his hands once it was over.

Lowrey's history of mental illness - including diagnoses of bipolar disorder and gender-identity disorder - were discussed at length during Wednesday's hearing. So was physical and mental abuse at the hands of his father, as well as schoolyard teasing and other factors that built what defense attorney Keith Grant called "a life of tragedy."

Potkonjak agreed but said the brutality of the murder "overshadows everything."

Assistant State's Attorney Patricia Fix had requested a 55-year prison term. Grant had asked for a maximum sentence of 40 or 45 years and requested Lowrey be incarcerated in the Dixon Correctional Center's psychiatric unit.

Potkonjak said he would recommend Lowrey be sent to Dixon, but the decision is up to the Illinois Department of Corrections. Due to the nature of the crime, however, Potkonjak noted such an assignment is doubtful.