PEORIA, Ill. – A Peoria man has been found guilty for the shooting deaths of his girlfriend and a neighbor two years ago.
The Peoria County State’s Attorney’s Office says 44-year-old Stevie Linwood was convicted Tuesday after a two-day trial on two counts of First Degree Murder for the August 11th, 2024 incident.
Police responded to the area of El Vista and Leroy, finding both victims with gunshot wounds.
Prosecutors say the girlfriend, 35-year-old Zaneta Winters, was found by police in the doorway of the home. She was reportedly running for help when Linwood shot her in the back of the head, and died days later from her injuries.
The neighbor, 20-year-old Jakaiden Rynearson, ran across the state to help Winters but was shot by Linwood three times, and died months later from her injuries.
Prosecutors say jurors were shown an interview of Linwood’s interview with detectives, where he admitted to shooting both women and discarding the gun. He told detectives the argument was about his infidelity, and shot Winters because he wanted her to “shut up.” Linwood said he shot Rynearson because she “ran at him.”
A neighbor also testified at the trial of seeing Rynearson lying on the ground while Linwood stood over her and shot her.
Prosecutors say four shell casings were found at the scene of the shooting, with a firearms identification expert confirming they came from the gun recovered by police.
Linwood will be sentenced on March 27th.
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