Elgin man’s self-defense claim rejected, jury convicts him in the murder, dismemberment of his mother. From the Elgin Courier-News.
Jurors returned their verdict after deliberating only two hours and 15 minutes, finding Peck guilty of the October 2017 murder of Gail Peck, who was 76. Peck was also found guilty of dismembering his mother’s body and concealing her homicide.
Peck, 59, offered little reaction to the verdict, which carries up to 100 years of prison time. Judge Joseph Cataldo, who presided over the weeklong trial, scheduled a Feb. 22 sentencing date. [Most read] 10 inches of snow have fallen south of Chicago, but forecasters now expect ‘round 2′ to miss the metro area entirely; but lake effect snow could add 5 inches along the shorelinePolice confronted Peck with mounting evidence of his involvement in his mother’s death and he later admitted killing her in the early morning hours of Oct. 25, 2017.
Peck testified he dodged his mother’s knife attack and stood on his mother’s throat until she died. When he realized his mother was dead, he said he became panic-stricken police would not believe he acted in self-defense and he needed to dispose of her body.