Illinois Man Gets Life Term for Killings of Wife, Stepson

A judge has sentenced a northern Illinois man to life in prison for beating his wife and teenage stepson to death with a baseball bat in 2015.

Lake County Judge James Booras called the crime "despicable" Monday when he sentenced 50-year-old Armando Trejo Jr. of Beach Park.

Trejo's attorneys say they plan to appeal the sentence along with a jury's guilty verdict against Trejo on first-degree murder charges in the killings of 43-year-old Lailani Uy Trejo and 14-year-old Patrick K. Cruz Uy.

Trejo admitted during his March trial that he used the aluminum bat to beat his wife and stepson to death. But his defense attorneys argue he reacted with "sudden and intense passion" after an argument and should have been charged with second-degree murder, which carries a lesser sentence.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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