Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 6, 2006 18:27:56 GMT -5
Killer of 3 women gets life in prison----Guilty plea spares him death
penalty
After hearing from the families of 3 women who were strangled during the
summer of 2001, a Cook County judge on Tuesday ordered their convicted
killer to spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of
parole.
Kevin Taylor, 32, a former Cheesecake Factory cook could have faced the
death penalty for strangling the women, who were prostitutes, between June
and August of 2001.
In June, Taylor, of the 10700 block of South Eberhart Avenue, was
sentenced to 50 years in prison for killing Cynthia Halk, 38.
In an effort to avoid the death penalty Taylor last month pleaded guilty
to killing Ola Mae Wallace, 39, Diane Jordan, 42, and Bernadine Blunt, 39.
He also pleaded guilty to trying to kill another prostitute who survived
the attack.
Criminal Court Judge Michael Toomin sentenced Taylor after hearing from
the families of the 3 women and from the surviving victim.
"He was just slinging me around. When I came to, I was on the ground on my
back, he was sitting on top of me. He looked like he was just mad, in a
rage," the woman said. "He was strangling me."
Toomin spared Taylor the death penalty after hearing from Christopher
Anderson, his public defender, about the man's turbulent childhood in
foster homes. Taylor's mother was a prostitute and drug addict who abused
him before abandoning him; and his father was a convict, Anderson said.
"The court has and will recognize that a plea of guilty is viewed as an
act of contrition, perhaps one first step on the route of rehabilitation,"
Toomin said.
Before the sentence, Taylor apologized to the families.
In videotaped confessions he made to police on Aug. 22, 2001, Taylor said
he strangled the prostitutes after he became enraged with them during sex.
In a videotaped confession that was replayed during Tuesday's sentencing
hearing, he reenacted the killings and took police to the scenes where he
disposed of their bodies. The bodies were left in alleys, in garbage cans
and in abandoned buildings.
The families of the women tearfully read victim impact statements to the
judge and asked him to sentence Taylor to prison.
Keisha McClary, 26, who held a photograph of her mother, Diane Jordan, who
was killed on July 10, 2001, said Taylor robbed her family.
"My mother was my best friend, I loved my mother, we did everything
together," McClary said. "All I want to know is how he could do this to
someone who never hurt anyone."
Sylvia Pierson, whose sister Bernadine Blunt was found on Aug. 18, 2001,
addressed Taylor as he sat emotionless alongside his public defenders.
"I keep telling myself it's not fair [but] I forgive you and I pray that
maybe God will forgive you," Pierson said.
(source: Chicago Tribune)
penalty
After hearing from the families of 3 women who were strangled during the
summer of 2001, a Cook County judge on Tuesday ordered their convicted
killer to spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of
parole.
Kevin Taylor, 32, a former Cheesecake Factory cook could have faced the
death penalty for strangling the women, who were prostitutes, between June
and August of 2001.
In June, Taylor, of the 10700 block of South Eberhart Avenue, was
sentenced to 50 years in prison for killing Cynthia Halk, 38.
In an effort to avoid the death penalty Taylor last month pleaded guilty
to killing Ola Mae Wallace, 39, Diane Jordan, 42, and Bernadine Blunt, 39.
He also pleaded guilty to trying to kill another prostitute who survived
the attack.
Criminal Court Judge Michael Toomin sentenced Taylor after hearing from
the families of the 3 women and from the surviving victim.
"He was just slinging me around. When I came to, I was on the ground on my
back, he was sitting on top of me. He looked like he was just mad, in a
rage," the woman said. "He was strangling me."
Toomin spared Taylor the death penalty after hearing from Christopher
Anderson, his public defender, about the man's turbulent childhood in
foster homes. Taylor's mother was a prostitute and drug addict who abused
him before abandoning him; and his father was a convict, Anderson said.
"The court has and will recognize that a plea of guilty is viewed as an
act of contrition, perhaps one first step on the route of rehabilitation,"
Toomin said.
Before the sentence, Taylor apologized to the families.
In videotaped confessions he made to police on Aug. 22, 2001, Taylor said
he strangled the prostitutes after he became enraged with them during sex.
In a videotaped confession that was replayed during Tuesday's sentencing
hearing, he reenacted the killings and took police to the scenes where he
disposed of their bodies. The bodies were left in alleys, in garbage cans
and in abandoned buildings.
The families of the women tearfully read victim impact statements to the
judge and asked him to sentence Taylor to prison.
Keisha McClary, 26, who held a photograph of her mother, Diane Jordan, who
was killed on July 10, 2001, said Taylor robbed her family.
"My mother was my best friend, I loved my mother, we did everything
together," McClary said. "All I want to know is how he could do this to
someone who never hurt anyone."
Sylvia Pierson, whose sister Bernadine Blunt was found on Aug. 18, 2001,
addressed Taylor as he sat emotionless alongside his public defenders.
"I keep telling myself it's not fair [but] I forgive you and I pray that
maybe God will forgive you," Pierson said.
(source: Chicago Tribune)