Today, in a packed Peoria County courtroom Allen Schimmelpfennig, 30, was sentenced to the maximum penalty of 80 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for murdering Gabrial Cook, despite never locating his body.
Assistant State’s Attorney Dave Gast argued that this would never end for Cook’s family since they don’t have a final resting place to go and grieve this loss. They are serving their own life sentence, and for that, Schimmelpfennig deserves the maximum penalty. Cook’s family members also testified about the lack of closure and requested the maximum sentence.
Judge John Vespa sentenced Schimmelpfennig to 75 years on the First-Degree Murder charge and five years on the Concealment of a Homicidal Death.
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