A man from Montgomery has been sentenced to life in prison for killing his wife at their home on Oct. 31, 2022, officials announced on Friday.
Timothy Gordon, 48, was sentenced by Kane County Circuit Court Judge Clint Hull to 50 years in prison for the first- degree murder of his wife, Yahaira, according to a news release from the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office. Because Gordon used a firearm to carry out the killing, he faced an additional sentence of anywhere between 25 years to natural life in prison without parole, the release said.
In sentencing Gordon to natural life in prison without parole, Hull took into account his criminal history, which included convictions for armed violence and robbery in Cook County in 1994, aggravated battery with a firearm in Champaign County in 2000, aggravated DUI in Cook County in 2011 and unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon in Mississippi in 2017, the release said.
According to officials, he was still on parole for that last offense when he killed his wife.
Gordon is believed to be the first defendant in Kane County who has been sentenced to a term of natural life in prison based on the firearm sentencing enhancement factor, officials said.
Around six weeks before the killing, the victim had filed for divorce from Gordon, but she was letting him live in the basement while she lived in a bedroom with her mother, her aunt and four children on the second floor of the house, according to the release.
Officials said that, on Halloween morning of 2022, Gordon found out that his wife may have been in the process of getting an order of protection against him which would have kicked him out of the house.
He became upset and pushed his way into the bedroom, where he shot the victim in the head, killing her instantly, the release said. Her mother, her aunt, a 2-year-old and 7-year-old were in the room at the time of the shooting, officials said.
The victim was also video recording on her cellphone at the time of the shooting because she was scared that Gordon would confront her, according to the release.