Guilty verdict in 2010 Crystal Lake townhouse arson, attempted murder
A McHenry County jury Thursday convicted a woman of attempted murder and aggravated arson for setting fire to her Crystal Lake townhouse in September 2010 with her boyfriend inside.
Carrie M. Gil, 46, faces up to 30 years in prison when she is sentenced on July 26. She also was convicted of residential arson for the fire in the 500 block of Windham Cove Drive.
The jury deliberated about 3½ hours after a three-day trial in Woodstock this week, where prosecutors argued that an unemployed Gil sought to kill her boyfriend a month after he discovered she ran up a $15,000 balance on a credit card that she secretly opened in his name.
Prosecutors also called experts to testify that Gil’s handwriting matched a handwritten note found at the scene containing “death spells” that spoke of killing an enemy by fire. The note also matched word-for-word computer documents found on Gil’s computer.
“The Crystal Lake Police Department put together a really good case,” Assistant State’s Attorney Dave Johnston said afterward.
“We’re happy with the verdict. We happy the jury saw the evidence the same way we did,” Johnston said.
During the trial. defense attorney Mike Bianucci argued that there was no physical evidence, such as DNA or fingerprints, that linked Gil to the blaze.
Bianucci declined to comment Thursday on the outcome of the case, but said he would be filing an appeal.
Gil must serve 85 percent of any sentence issued to her in July by Judge Sharon Prather.