PEORIA, Ill. – A man who killed his wife and eight-year-old stepson in Peoria nearly two years ago will spend the rest of his life in prison.
25 News reports 35-year-old Ricky Payne received the life sentence during a hearing Wednesday. He was found guilty of First Degree Murder in February in the September 2022 shooting deaths of his wife, Quardreka Payne, and step-son, Cael Thornton.
The Peoria County State’s Attorney’s Office says Payne received an automatic sentence of natural life in prison because he killed two people.
The state’s attorney’s office says family members of Quardreka and Cael recounted the day of the murders at the hearing, saying their lives would never be the same. They also asked Payne, “Why?”
Payne did not speak when given an opportunity to at the hearing.
Prosecutors say Payne beat Quardreka and shot her three times, with two shots hitting her face and neck. He then went upstairs and shot Cael twice in the head.
Payne’s 15-month-old twins, who were in the same room as Cael, were not harmed.
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