LINCOLN, Ill. — A man convicted of beating five members of his ex-wife's family to death in their small-town Illinois home was sentenced Friday to five consecutive life terms.
Christopher Harris, 34, was convicted in May after a monthlong trial. Harris admitted killing Dillen Constant, but claimed he did so in self-defense after discovering the 14-year-old boy slaughtering his own family. Harris reiterated his innocence on Friday when making a brief statement before being sentenced.
"I made a lot of stupid, stupid decisions that night but I did not commit this crime, and that's all I have to say," he said, according to the Peoria Journal Star, which reported that Harris spoke for about one minute.
But Judge Scott Drazewski, who before the sentencing denied Harris' motion for a new trial, not only imposed the five consecutive life sentences, but added a total of 80 years in prison for first-degree murder, armed robbery and home invasion.
Because of the charges, the only sentence that the judge could have imposed was life in prison. But there was drama in the sweltering courtroom.
"I am 7 and it still breaks my heart and I wish you were dead and my brothers and sister and Mommy and Daddy were alive," Tabitha Gee, who was 3 years old when she was beaten and survived the attack, said through a statement that was read in court, according to The (Bloomington) Pantagraph.
Harris' ex-wife, Nicole Gee, stated in a letter that was read in court that she had changed the name of Harris' son, who was born a short time before the killings, and vowed that she would never tell Harris what the boy's name is, according to the Peoria newspaper.
During the trial, Harris' own brother testified against him, describing the sickening sound as Harris pummeled his former mother-in-law and her family with a tire iron.
