A 51-year-old Aurora man has been sentenced to 105 years in prison for fatally shooting his recent domestic partner in January 2024.
In November 2025, Travares O. Mitchell, of the 1000 block of Sard Avenue, was convicted by a jury of First-Degree Murder (Class M felony) and Armed Habitual Criminal (Class X felony).
According to prosecutors, on January 13, 2024, Aurora police officers responded to a single-vehicle crash and shots fired near Prairie Street and Woodlawn Avenue in Aurora. Officers located 46-year-old Serhonda Burnett as the sole occupant and passenger in the crashed vehicle. Burnett suffered from numerous gunshot wounds and was transported to a local hospital, where she was pronounced deceased a short time later. An autopsy determined her cause of death to be multiple gunshot wounds.
Investigators determined, based on witness statements and surveillance video evidence in the surrounding area, that Mitchell, a recent domestic partner of Burnett, crashed his car into the tree before he exited the driver’s seat and discharged three gunshots through the driver’s side front window, striking Burnett. The defendant then fled the area on foot. Burnett suffered from a total of 10 gunshot wounds.
DNA evidence was collected from the driver’s airbag and forensic testing provided supported that the defendant was driving the vehicle at the time of the crash. A warrant for Mitchell’s arrest was obtained on February 21, 2024, and he was taken into custody on March 6, 2024, in Orlando, Florida, and later transferred to the Kane County Jail.
The First-Degree Murder conviction carried a sentence of 20 to 60 years plus a mandatory add-on of 25 years to life in prison because prosecutors proved Mitchell personally discharged the firearm. Mitchell received a sentence of 55 years for the offense of First-Degree Murder plus the 25-year add-on, totaling 80 years for First-Degree Murder and a consecutive 25 years for the offense of Armed Habitual Criminal.
In accordance with Illinois law, Mitchell is not eligible for day-for-day sentencing for the offense of First-Degree Murder and must serve 100% of the 80-year sentence. Mitchell must serve at least 85 percent of the 25-year sentence for Armed Habitual Criminal. The two sentences are mandatory consecutive under Illinois law. Mitchell receives credit for 731 days served in custody in the Kane County jail.
“This sentence—105 years in prison—reflects the seriousness of the defendant’s criminal choices and the devastating harm those choices inflicted not only on those directly involved in this case but on our entire community,” Assistant State’s Attorneys Hillary Sadler said. “This sentence sends a clear message: domestic violence will not be tolerated. Violence of any kind be met with meaningful accountability, and those who endanger our community will be removed from it.”
