July 31--A Geneva man found guilty of killing his wife because of an alleged affair is scheduled to be sentenced Friday in Kane County court.
Shadwick King, 47, faces 20 to 60 years in prison for the first-degree murder of his wife, Kathleen King. It was the first murder in Geneva in four decades.
Judge James Hallock is expected to consider a lengthy defense motion seeking a new trial. Should the court deny the motion, Hallock will then preside over King's sentencing hearing.
State's Attorney Joe McMahon called the murder "a classic case of domestic violence."
Prosecutors on Friday are expected to present victim impact statements from those affected by the death of Kathleen King, 32, whose body was found in the early morning hours of July 6, 2014, on railroad tracks not far from the couple's Geneva home.
A Kane County jury heard evidence for two weeks and deliberated about six hours in March before returning a guilty verdict against King.
Authorities say he strangled his wife in a fit of jealousy when he discovered she was having a relationship with a younger man. He then placed her body on the tracks to make it appear she had collapsed while jogging, prosecutors argued at trial.
King took to the witness stand on the last day of his trial, telling jurors that he had never physically abused his wife and did not choke her to death. King told police that he and his wife, who are the parents of three, had been up late drinking and discussing a divorce when she went out early in the morning for a run to clear her head.
King's attorneys argued that Kathleen King's death was caused by a heart condition aggravated by alcohol, stress and a lack of sleep. But prosecutors said it was a clear case of asphyxiation, and that King had staged his wife's body on the tracks in an attempt to conceal his crime.
Clifford Ward is a freelance reporter.
