An Aurora man has been spared life in prison and was sentenced Wednesday to 60 years for stabbing a World War II veteran to death.
Hector M. Maurico, 25, pleaded guilty in Sept 2010 to two counts of first-degree murder in the May 29, 2007, death of Roscoe Ebey, 83, of Aurora Township, Kane County State's Attorney Office said.
Maurico broke into Ebey's home and stabbed him multiple times. A neighbor, woken up by a suspicious noise, went to investigate and saw Maurico in the basement of Ebey's house. The neighbor reached through the basement window and pulled Mauricio outside by the hair, holding him until authorities arrived.
Richard Ebey, Ebey's son, said Ebey had built the house in 1944 by himself after he returned from serving in the Army in World War II. Ebey worked for the Burlington Northern Railway for 35 years without missing a day.
“He loved people, and he couldn’t do enough for them to his dying day," Richard Ebey said.
After Ebey's death, the Kane County Sheriff's Office established the Roscoe Ebey Award in his honor. The award is given to a citizen or citizens who make a difference in their community.
