EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (CN) - The last of six people involved in the torture-murder of a pregnant, developmentally disabled woman in Alton, Ill., has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for first-degree murder.
Benny Wilson, 19, was sentenced by Madison County Associate Judge James Hackett.
Alton police Officer Jennifer Tierney testified that evidence showed Wilson had repeatedly shot Dorothy Dixon with a BB gun and kicked her in the face and head.
Dixon was found dead on Jan. 31, 2008 in a damp, unfinished basement where she lived.
She had numerous bruises, burns over 30 to 40 percent of her body, a number of BBs lodged in her skin and was 5 or 6 months pregnant with a viable fetus.
Wilson's sentence was not as severe as the one handed to the alleged ringleader, Michelle Riley, who received 45 years after pleading guilty to first-degree murder. Police say Riley dominated the house, collected Dixon's disability check and treated her as a slave.
Other defendants included LeShelle McBride, 18, Riley's daughter, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 6 years; Michael J. Elliott, 21, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 8 years; Judy E. Woods, 46, who pleaded guilty to aggravated battery and was sentenced to 18 months; and a 12-year-old boy who was found guilty of second-degree murder in juvenile court and was sentenced to 60 days of detention and 5 years probation.
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