Westmont man seeks new trial after murder conviction
Attorneys for a Westmont man convicted of fatally stabbing his father in May 2011 filed a motion on his behalf Friday seeking a new trial.
A DuPage County jury deliberated for less than two hours last month before convicting William Clifford III, 36, of first-degree murder.
Defense attorneys have to request a new trial in order to preserve Clifford's appeal rights. Judge Robert Kleeman will rule on the motion at 1:30 p.m. March 23. If the motion fails, Clifford could then be sentenced to between 20 and 60 years in prison.
Clifford, prosecutors said, was upset at living in the suburbs and missed his previous home in Chicago's Streeterville neighborhood and proximity to the beach, Lake Michigan and the grocery store.
Prosecutors said the killing happened after the father and son argued about Clifford's living arrangements, which his parents largely financed.
During the trial, Clifford's brother, Ryan Clifford, testified his brother confessed to him during a jail visit in November 2013.
“He said ‘I was frustrated with how my life was going and I took my frustration out on dad,'” Ryan Clifford testified.
A neighbor in the extended-stay hotel testified he heard the commotion and saw the younger Clifford attacking the victim with a steak knife and attempted to pull Clifford off his father. After the stabbing, Clifford fled the hotel, only to return in a bloody shirt three hours later when he was apprehended.