Geneva resident Shadwick King gets 30-year sentence in murder case

ST. CHARLES TOWNSHIP – Shadwick King maintained his innocence minutes before a Kane County judge Friday sentenced him to 30 years in prison for killing his wife.

“I never laid a hand on her, not one time,” the Geneva man said. “I did not kill my wife. To the day I die, I did not do it.”

In March, a 12-member jury found Shadwick King, 48, guilty of first-degree murder in the death of his wife.

Prosecutors presented evidence that sometime after 5 a.m. July 6, 2014, Shadwick King asphyxiated his wife, Kathleen King, at their home, killing her. The 32-year-old’s body was found that morning on the Union Pacific tracks near the 200 block of Briar Lane and Esping Park in Geneva.

Judge James C. Hallock announced Shadwick King’s sentence – of which he must serve the entirety – after the court heard victim impact statements from members of Kathleen King’s family.

Relatives described her murder as a “heinous act of violence” that she didn’t deserve and said the impact of her loss is immeasurable.

Members of the gallery cried as Kathleen King’s relatives used such words as vivacious, radiant, bright and bubbly to describe their late niece, daughter and sister. Her sons – who were 9, 7 and 5 at the time of her death – meant everything to her, they said.

“My heart aches for my nephews,” said Bridget Roberts, an aunt.

Kurt Kuester’s hands trembled as he spoke about his late daughter, saying his family has felt “overwhelming, paralyzing grief.” His grandsons lost the security of having two parents to care for them, as well as the comforts home provides, he said.

Shadwick King has yet to take any responsibility for his actions, Kuester said, adding his daughter’s husband has “shown absolutely no remorse” about leaving her body to be mutilated on the railroad tracks.

Shadwick King, who was escorted to the witness chair to make his statement, called the situation an “unbearable tragedy” and described his wife as the “love of my life and best friend.”

His attorney, Kane County Public Defender Kelli Childress, spent Friday morning making a case for a new trial. Hallock ruled early afternoon the conviction would stand.

“The court finds the state proved the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt,” Hallock said to a full courtroom.

Childress took nearly three hours to state her case, which included arguments about “incessant” objections and errors by the state during the trial. Specifically, she said, the prosecution reserved factual arguments for its rebuttal, giving her no chance to respond.

“That error alone requires that Mr. King gets a new trial,” she said.

The sentencing range was 20 to 60 years, Hallock said, citing statute. The prosecution said a 42-year sentence would be appropriate.

During the sentencing hearing, Childress said the loss of a beautiful young mother and wife is an enormous tragedy, but the “conviction of an innocent man is just as enormous.” She requested a sentence of 20 years.

Kane County State’s Attorney Joe McMahon stated in a news release the 30-year sentence was suitable.

“Mr. King committed the ultimate act of domestic violence in a fit of jealousy and rage,” McMahon stated in the release. “This sentence is a suitable price for Mr. King to pay, but it’s nothing compared to the cost borne by their children, who must live with the burden of their own father taking their mother from them. Although the sentence will not erase the hollow feeling that Kathleen’s family and friends have felt since her death, I do hope they see it as just.”