June 01--A former Illinois state trooper who shot his girlfriend to death at a west suburban graduation party in 2012 was sentenced Wednesday to 50 years in prison, according to Cook County prosecutors.
Brian Himber, 35, of Chicago, was sentenced in the Cook County courthouse in Maywood for the first-degree murder of Tracy Mays, 29, of Joliet. The shooting took place on July 22, 2012, when Himber off-duty.
The couple had come to a home in the 10900 block of Nelson Street in Westchester where an eighth-grade graduation party was taking place. A few hours after they arrived, Himber shot Mays multiple times with a .380-cailber handgun as she sat on a porch, according to authorities. Himber then shot himself in the chin in an attempt to kill himself, police said.
Following his arrest, Himber was relieved of his duties with the Illinois State Police. He had been with the agency since 2004.
Himber was found guilty of Mays' murder following a three-day trial in January.
Under state law, Himber must serve 100 percent of the sentence. Judge Gregory Ginex handed down the sentence.
Clifford Ward is a freelance reporter.
