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1 of 2 Illinois brothers charged in 1983 death pleads guilty

Posted October 19, 2019 7:00 am

The Associated Press

DIXON, Ill. (AP) - One of two brothers charged in the 1983 death of a man whose body was found in a rural Illinois hog pen has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter.

Sauk Valley Media reports 69-year-old Gordon "Kent" Bobell of Chillicothe pleaded guilty Friday in Lee County.

Bobell and his brother, 72-year-old Terry Bobell of Chillicothe, were charged in 2015 for the 1983 death of 30-year-old Gary Dawson in Peoria.

A third man, 61-year-old Steven Watts of Berryville, Arkansas, also was charged with first-degree murder.

Prosecutors say that at the time of the 1983 killing, Watts hired the Bobells to deal with Dawson because Watts' brother owed Dawson $90,000 for drugs and thought Watts should pay it.

Dawson was bound with duct tape, stabbed and beaten to death. His naked body was dumped in a Franklin Grove hog pen.

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Information from: Sauk Valley Media, http://www.saukvalley.com

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