Dad stabs mother to avoid child support; 2 children abandoned at murder scene, including 9-day-old baby (Joliet, Illinois)

Dad HEZEKIAH HAMILTON has been convicted of murder in the stabbing death of the mother of their two children. Daddy was apparently miffed about paying child support for the new baby, who was only 9 days old. Daddy abandoned both children at the murder scene. I suppose we should be very grateful this @$$wipe didn't stab the kids to death as well. The father from South Africa, in the posting immediately below this one, shot the baby in the head to avoid child support.

Notice that the killer's mother explains his behavior thus: Sonny was stuck with HIS abusive father back in Jamaica until he was a teen and could join his mother in the U.S. The sins of the father....

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-06-15/news/ct-met-0616-hamilton-sentence-20100615_1_brenetta-beck-hezekiah-hamilton-sentence

Joliet man sentenced to 55 years in stabbing death
Hezekiah Hamilton was convicted in March in death of mother of his children
June 15, 2010By Clifford Ward, Special to the Tribune

A Joliet man convicted of brutally stabbing to death the mother of his two children was sentenced Tuesday to 55 years in prison.

Hezekiah Hamilton, 26, had been found guilty of murder in March for the death of Brenetta Beck, 25, whose slumped body was found in her Aurora apartment on Oct. 30, 2007, dead from more than 50 stab wounds. Her two children, including her 9-day-old baby, were also inside the apartment.

Kane County Judge Timothy Sheldon, who found Hamilton guilty following a March bench trial, called Beck's murder "a horrible, violent death of a loving, giving young mother and a loving, caring daughter and niece."

The judge pronounced sentence after an emotional hearing at which Beck's mother, grandmother and aunt recalled Beck, a hospice worker who planned to become a nurse.

"She made the mistake of loving someone who didn't love her," said Beck's mother, who also is named Brenetta Beck.

Hamilton maintained his innocence and said that he loved Beck.

"I'm sorry for whatever happened to her," Hamilton said.

That drew a sharp response from State's Attorney John Barsanti, who chided Hamilton's "arrogance and audacity."

"I'd hate to see what would have happened if he didn't love her because I can't see what more damage can be done to a human being," Barsanti said.

At trial, Barsanti argued that Hamilton, who was living with another woman, was angry over having to pay to support his second child with Beck. Hamilton showed up at her apartment the morning of the murder under the pretense of getting Social Security information for the baby. Police questioned Hamilton immediately after the murder and found Beck's blood on his clothing and in his truck.

Barsanti asked for a 60-year sentence. The judge said he was willing to reduce the sentence after listening to Hamilton's mother testify. Pamela Hamilton said she and her son, one of her four children, were abused by Hamilton's father in their native Jamaica.

Pamela Hamilton, who said her husband struck her in the head with a machete in front of the then-6-year-old Hezekiah, said she fled to America, but was forced to leave Hezekiah and one of his brothers behind. He came to America as a teenager.

"If you're guilty, please find it in your heart to redeem yourself," she told her son.

Beck's mother said afterward she hoped for an even longer sentence, but was satisfied. Brenetta Beck, 50, and her mother, Geri Solomon, 74, are raising Beck's children, Trevion Hamilton, 2, and Tamia Hamilton, 4.

Solomon, a minister at the Aurora Church of God in Christ, said her training in counseling has not provided guidance about what the family will someday have to explain to Trevion and Tamia.

"I can't figure out an answer for my great-grandchildren," Solomon said.

Brenetta Beck said she'll tell her grandchildren that their mother loved them.