Death penalty not sought in Oak Brook New Year's Day murder

Prosecutors will not seek the death penalty against a man if he is convicted of the execution-style murder of his ex-wife on New Year's Day outside an Oak Brook hotel.

Assistant DuPage State's Attorney Mary K. Cronin announced the decision Tuesday during Jerry L. "Shorty" Hudson's monthly status hearing.

The 49-year-old Bolingbrook man is charged with gunning down Melissa Bridgewater, 45, after luring his ex-wife to her death outside the Doubletree Inn.

Prosecutors said they later found a note in Hudson's home outlining his plans to kill her and then himself.

"Melissa has taken my manhood, so I'm taking her with me," the Dec. 30 note read. "I can't leave this earth knowing she used me for 20 years. Please forgive me. I don't need to suffer anymore."

Police traced Hudson's cell phone to the murder scene, and cameras at tollway I-PASS booths tracked portions of his escape in a rental car. But Hudson's attorney has argued that all the evidence is circumstantial and his client did not attempt to flee. Hudson turned himself in to police two days after the shooting. He suffers from diabetes and spinal cancer and does not have a violent criminal record.

Prosecutors said Hudson called Bridgewater's hotel room at about 6:30 a.m. Jan. 1 and told her he was ransacking her Bolingbrook home. Bridgewater came downstairs and asked a hotel employee to escort her to her car. He did and when she was safely inside, the employee began walking back to the hotel.

That's when Hudson is accused of ramming his rental car into her vehicle, then shooting Bridgewater five times through her driver's-side window. Hudson's rental car later was found abandoned in Chicago.

He is back in court July 22. If convicted, Hudson faces a minimum of 45 years in prison.