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Rockford man who killed teen sentenced to life plus 45 years

Posted October 27, 2018 7:00 am

The Associated Press

ROCKFORD, Ill. (AP) - A Rockford man who was convicted in the slaying of his ex-girlfriend's teenage daughter and shooting the girl's grandmother in the face has been sentenced to life plus 45 years in state prison.

The Rockford Register Star reports that Judge Joseph McGraw told 38-year-old Michael E. Mernack that he'd acted in a "savage, cruel and violent manner" before imposing the sentence on Friday.

The hearing came two months after a jury convicted Mernack of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, home invasion and aggravated battery.

Prosecutors said during the trial that in December 2016, a month after 16-year-old Rebecca A. Finkenhofer's mother kicked Mernack out of her Machesney Park apartment, Mernack kicked in the door and stabbed and shot the teen. He also shot Cheryl Puckett in the face. Puckett survived.

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