Fourth person involved in Waukegan torture, murder gets 40 years
A Waukegan woman who assisted in the torture and killing of a man she believed sexually assaulted her was sentenced to 40 years in prison late Wednesday, authorities said.
Nadia Palacios, 24, was facing up to 60 years in prison after pleading guilty to a single count of first degree murder on July 15 for her role in the 2011 murder of David Campbell, 27, of Waukegan.
She must serve 100 percent of the sentence before being eligible for parole, said Lake County Assistant States Attorney Jim Newman.
The Waukegan woman is the fourth of five people sentenced to prison for Campbell's murder at a Waukegan auto-body shop on Dugdale Street.
Authorities said the five were looking for revenge for a sexual assault of Palacios when they lured Campbell to the shop with a fake drug deal.
After Campbell entered the auto body shop office, one assailant grabbed him and held him while another hit him in the head with a hammer, authorities said.
The five interrogated, tortured, and eventually killed Campbell in the garage. They dumped his body in the Penny Road Pond in unincorporated Cook County near Barrington, authorities said.
Authorities said Palacios tortured Campbell with a blow torch before he was killed.
After the murder, authorities said the five conspired to hide Campbell's car in Indiana, then split up $15,000 to $20,000 in cash Campbell had brought to the garage.
Police said Campbell was wrongly accused of sexually assaulting Palacios.
Jose Horta, 21, of Waukegan, was sentenced in March to 59 years in prison; Roberto Guzman, 26, was sentenced to 29 years in prison after pleading guilty in May 2013; and Eric Castillo, 26, of Beach Park, was sentenced to 35 years in prison in May 2014.
Authorities said the fifth suspect involved in Campbell's murder has eluded capture.