Man Gets Life in Loop Dermatologist's Slaying

Hans Peterson was tried last week in Guadeloupe

The man accused of killing a downtown Chicago dermatologist in 2006 was found guilty during a trial in the French West Indies, the victim's family announced Tuesday.

Hans Peterson was convicted last week in Guadeloupe for the 2006 murder of Dr. David Cornbleet. Cornbleet was found bound, gagged and stabbed to death in October 2006 in his Michigan Avenue office.

Peterson also was found guilty of committing acts of barbarism, according to Cornbleet's son, Jon.

Peterson was sentenced to life in prison but will be eligible for parole in 22 years. It's the harshest penalty he could have obtained in France, Jon Cornbleet said.

"I think one of the biggest surprises was his level of obsession with my father," Jon Cornbleet said of what he heard during the trial. "I don't think any of us knew the level of his passion toward my father. He said that he had called over 500 times in the past few years, calling basically under fake names." 

Cornbleet's family testified at the five-day trial in Guadeloupe. After a long extradition battle that drew national headlines, Jon Cornbleet said Tuesday the family is satisfied with the verdict and is pleased with the way the trial was conducted.

Peterson fled to Guadeloupe because French law prohibits the extradition of suspects who face the death penalty. In 2007, Sen. Dick Durbin and then-Sen. Barack Obama sent a letter to the French Embassy urging the government to extradite Peterson to no avail.

Peterson will serve his time in France. 

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