WAUKEGAN, Ill. (AP) — A suburban Chicago man has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder charges in the death of his girlfriend’s 5-month-old son.
Demetries Thorpe of Zion admitted Tuesday in Lake County Circuit Court that he suffocated Joshua Summeries last year before dumping his body into a trash container, the contents of which were later taken to a landfill. The body was never recovered.
The Daily Herald in Arlington Heights reports (http://bit.ly/1jcjm1C ) that in exchange for the guilty plea, prosecutors dropped other related charges. As a result, Thorpe faces 35 years in prison when he is sentenced for Sept. 2.
Prosecutors said the 27-year-old Thorpe smothered the infant while the child was crying. He then placed his body in a backpack. Authorities said a surveillance camera recorded Thorpe putting a backpack in the trash.
