Spitalli gets 68 years for Darien slaying, kidnapping
A 36-year-old Darien man convicted of nearly beheading his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend will likely never be free again.
DuPage County Judge Daniel Guerin sentenced Joseph Spitalli Tuesday evening to 68 years in prison for his convictions for first-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping. Prosecutors sought a natural life sentence for the murder, followed by 20 years for the kidnapping.
A jury convicted Spitalli in November of killing 31-year-old Skokie resident Teymur Huseynli. Spitalli slashed the man's throat, all the way through to his spine, with a 5-inch serrated kitchen knife in the overnight hours of Nov. 16 and 17, 2012.
Kristina Baltrimaviciene, 30, testified during last month's trial that she and Huseynli, who she was dating, were leaving her apartment on the 7700 block of Wildwood Court in Darien late on the night of Nov. 16, 2012. Spitalli, whom she had dated and lived with earlier in the year, appeared from the darkness demanding money.
After a brief scuffle between the men, she said Spitalli left, only to appear moments later, running up behind Huseynli and slitting his throat.
"On this night, you looked the giant but acted the coward," Guerin told Spitalli Tuesday, referencing his large frame. "This was a murder born of jealousy, fueled by anger and executed in hatred."
After killing Huseynli, Spitalli drove Baltrimaviciene around Darien for more than an hour, holding the knife, before she persuaded him to "get rid of it" near the intersection of 91st Street and Clarendon Hills Road in Darien.
Prosecutors read a statement from Baltrimaviciene in which she calls the night a "horrible tragedy (she) can't stop thinking about." In her letter, Baltrimaviciene also said she has recurring nightmares of Spitalli walking around carrying her daughter's severed head.
Baltrimaviciene said she felt justice was served and expressed sympathy for the Huseynli family.
"I think he got what he deserves, she said. "I wish it would have been life in prison without parole, but 68 years is basically the same thing."
During Tuesday's sentencing hearing, prosecutors also played several secretly recorded conversations Spitalli had with another inmate in 2013 about paying someone about $6,000 to kill Baltrimaviciene, his former roommate who declined to give him an alibi the night of the crime, and possibly even Baltrimaviciene's young daughter.
"During those conversations, (Spitalli) shows a chilling casualness about murder," Guerin said. "He doesn't show any signs of empathy or remorse."
As he was being led out of the courtroom Tuesday evening, Spitalli winked and blew a kiss to family members and said "Don't worry."
Assistant Public Defender George Ford, who sought the minimum sentence of 26 years, said he would be filing a motion for Guerin to reconsider the sentence. That hearing is scheduled for Feb. 3.