Aurora man gets 105 years in prison on murder, gun convictions

An Aurora man convicted of fatally shooting his ex-partner after crashing a car into a tree has been sentenced to 105 years in prison.

Travares O. Mitchell, 51, of the 1000 block of Sard Avenue, killed 46-year-old Serhonda Burnett of Oswego. He was convicted of first-degree murder and armed habitual criminal in November 2025.

On January 13, 2024, Aurora police officers responded to a single-vehicle crash and shots fired near Prairie Street and Woodlawn Avenue in Aurora.

They found Burnett in the vehicle. She suffered 10 gunshot wounds.

Investigators determined Mitchell had crashed his car into a tree, got out and fired a gun through the driver’s-side front window.

He was sentenced to 80 years on the murder charge and 25 years for the armed habitual criminal charge.

He will have to serve at least 100% of the murder sentence, followed by 85% of the other sentence, before being eligible for parole.