Judge John A. Barsanti has found Shadwick R. King guilty of the offense of first-degree murder for killing his wife, 32-year-old Kathleen King, in July 2014.
A jury in March 2015 had found King guilty of first-degree murder in Kathleen King’s death, and a judge sentenced him to 30 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. However, the Illinois Appellate Court Second District, citing concerns with an expert witness, nullified the jury’s guilty verdict and ordered a new trial. For the new trial, King declined a jury trial.
Kane County Assistant State’s Attorneys Greg Sams, Mark D. Stajdohar and Margaret O’Brien presented evidence that, shortly after 5 a.m. on July 6, 2014, Shadwick King asphyxiated Kathleen King at their home, killing her. Mr. King had recently learned that Kathleen King was emotionally involved with another man. Mr. King then placed her body on the Union Pacific Railway tracks in the vicinity of the 200 block of Briar Lane and Esping Park on Geneva’s east side. Shortly after 6:30 a.m. that day, a Metra Rail conductor reported seeing a female body lying on the tracks. Geneva police immediately responded to the scene and determined the woman was deceased.
Judge John A. Barsanti set King’s next court appearance for 1:30 p.m. on October 5, 2022, in Courtroom 319 at the Kane County Judicial Center for post-trial motions.
Judge Barsanti revoked King’s bond upon conviction. King remains in custody at the Kane County jail.
“This has been a journey of now more than eight years for Kathleen’s family,” Sams said after the verdict. “And that is where I want to start. They lost so much when Kathleen was murdered, and yet they have remained ever vigilant, ever caring, and ever dedicated to her memory. This verdict does not give them Kathleen back, but it is a continued step forward in their recovery from the grief I remember seeing in their faces in July 2014.”
