Man gets 100 years for Warrenville murder

A Maywood man who acted as his own attorney was sentenced Wednesday to 100 years in prison for the October 2004 murder of 17-year-old Sade Glover, who was gunned down outside her Warrenville home.

Joshua Matthews, 25, was convicted by a DuPage County jury last month of first-degree murder charges in Glover's killing Oct. 9, 2004. The victim's mother, Barbara Hudson, said the sentence imposed by Judge Robert Kleeman gave her family some relief.

“One hundred years doesn't bring my baby back, but I'll be all right,” she said. “That's a life sentence.”

Matthews was kept in a soundproof booth for part of his sentencing hearing Wednesday, after yelling at a witness. He presented no evidence and spoke only briefly when it was his turn to argue.

“Judge, you do what you like,” he said. “I have absolutely no respect for this courtroom.”

Prosecutors said Matthews ambushed Glover, a childhood friend and College of DuPage student, as she exited a car outside her home, just weeks after she pressed battery charges against him for allegedly punching her in the face. Although the defendant later confessed to police, he told jurors he was tricked into giving a false statement after hours of interrogation.

At sentencing, prosecutors called several officers from the DuPage County jail who testified that Matthews possessed marijuana and weapons, including a glass cutter, a hammer and multiple cutting tools, or “shanks,” in his six years in custody.

They also detailed his extensive criminal history, which included 10 juvenile detention petitions and adult arrests for beating a cabdriver with a stick and snatching a woman's purse at a suburban bank.

“This guy was given more breaks than anyone can imagine, and he failed miserably,” Assistant State's Attorney Steven Knight said. “Society does not need Joshua Matthews, and society does not want him.”

Kleeman said he couldn't find a single factor in Matthews' background that would suggest the need for leniency. He said the defendant showed only a propensity for violence, which likely would re-occur.

The judge said it was “acutely aggravating” that Matthews murdered someone courageous enough to press charges against him and potentially testify in court.

“If we don't exact a sentence that is more severe, it will be an injustice to all parties concerned,” Kleeman said. “Mr. Matthews is somebody who believes the rules just don't apply to him.”