Former Downers Grove man learns sentence after choking, stabbing mother to death in 2018
Kevin James, 30
DUPAGE COUNTY, Ill. - A former Downers Grove man was sentenced to 20 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for the 2018 stabbing of his mother.
Kevin James, 30, entered a plea of guilty but mentally ill to one count of first-degree murder on Tuesday, prosecutors said.
The sentencing stems from a 2018 incident in unincorporated Downers Grove.
On Jan. 9, at about 1:38 p.m., the DuPage County Sheriff's Office received a 911 call regarding a stabbing that occurred in the 2100 block of 63rd Street.
When authorities arrived, they found James in the doorway of the home with the main door open and the screen door closed. Deputies saw blood on James' body and clothes, prosecutors said.
Once inside the home, deputies found a woman, later identified as James' mother, Patricia, face down in the living room, unconscious and bleeding from what appeared to be multiple stab wounds.
She was taken to an area hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
While investigating the stabbing, authorities determined that James had begun choking his mother with his hands and then stabbed her several times with a kitchen knife.
James was taken into custody on the day of the stabbing, and on Jan. 11, he appeared in bond court, where his bond was set at $3 million. He has remained in custody since that time.
On Tuesday, a judge delivered James' sentence of 20 years, guilty but mentally ill, in the Illinois Department of Corrections.