A 20-year-old woman from suburban Chicago will spend the rest of her life in jail for her role in a brutal double murder in Joliet last year.
Bethany McKee was sentenced Tuesday in Will County of the murders of Eric Glover and Terrance Rankins, both 22. Both were found strangled in a home with plastic bags over their heads in January 2013. She was convicted in August
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Joshua Miner, 26, was also convicted and will be sentenced later this month. Another suspect, Adam Landerman, 21, is awaiting trial, while Alissa Massaro, 20, pleaded guilty to robbery and concealment of a homicidal death in exchange for a 10-year prison sentence.
Will County Judge Gerald Kinney denied McKee's attorneys' motions for a new trial on Monday.
"[McKee] assisted the other individuals by helping place a Jewel bag over the head of Terrance Rankins and holding a lamp so that the bag could be placed on the victim's head," Judge Kinney said in his ruling.
"She also seemed upset in her interview when she realized there was more money stolen from these victims that (sic) she was told. She volunteered to search the vehicle of Eric Glover and removed from that vehicle stuffed animals and CDs, apparently for her use or her child's use," the judge continued.
McKee's defense lawyer Charles Bretz had argued in August, in the case's closing arguments, that there was no evidence linking his client to the murders.
But prosecutors showed video of McKee's police interrogation, in which she was heard saying she "knew what was going on" and "we can just beat them up and kill them."
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Her attorney pointed out that the video also showed her saying she didn't remember what happened that day.
