Central Illinois man gets life in deaths of mother, daughter

URBANA, Ill. (AP) - A central Illinois man convicted of fatally shooting his live-in girlfriend and her adult daughter last year in their rural home has been sentenced to life in prison.

A Champaign County judge sentenced Jonathon Perry, 30, on Thursday in the March 2020 killing of Kimberly Coyne, 54, and her daughter, Blair Coyne, 24. They were found shot to death at the rural St. Joseph home they had allowed the unemployed Perry to share with them.

Perry was arrested after his mother called 911 on her son after he made alarming comments to her after the shooting.

A jury convicted Perry last month on two counts of first degree murder. Because he was convicted of two murders, Judge Randy Rosenbaum was obligated to sentence Perry to life in prison.

'œThere is no good time provision, there is no parole, there is no early release,'ť said Julia Rietz, Champaign County State's Attorney.

She noted that Perry had previous convictions for driving under the influence, burglary and residential burglary and he had passed up opportunities to get help for his substance-abuse and mental-health problems.

Blair Coyne's uncle, Ed Coyne, said the aftermath of the killings has been tough for the entire family, but mostly for his brother.

'œMy brother's had a really, really hard time. ... Blair was his only child. He still loved Kim tremendously,'ť Ed Coyne said.