An Illinois man was sentenced to serve 50 years in jail after he shot and killed an unarmed man who came to his home in response to a Craigslist ad offering sex with his pregnant wife.
Timothy Smith, 28, was arrested in 2011 for delivering a fatal shot to Kurt Milliman, 48, after an argument interrupted the sexual encounter between Milliman and Smith’s wife Kim, who was 2-months pregnant at the time.
Smith subsequently tried to disguise the murder as self-defense in response to an alleged home invasion.
During his sentencing Smith tearfully apologized to Milliman’s family in the court room, ‘I’m sorry that I screwed up so much trying so hard to be someone I’m not,’ he said. ‘I am sorry from the bottom of my heart.’
In his distraught statement Smith blamed his actions on alcohol abuse and mental health issues.
After killing Milliman, Smith proceeded to doctor the scene, smashing a window and overturning furniture, before calling the police to report he had stopped an intruder from attacking his pregnant wife, reported the Chicago Sun-Times.
Eventually the police investigation exposed Smith’s lie and he confessed that Milliman, a former employee at the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office and local tavern owner, had come to his house looking for a paid sexual encounter in response to the online ad.
During Smith’s trial last February in which he was convicted of first-degree murder, he swore the shooting was accidental.
However, prosecutors insisted Milliman was shot because he attempted to leave without paying for the unfinished sexual encounter.
Authorities reported that Smith had been hiding when Milliman arrived and shot him in the back after Milliman and Kim began to argue, according to The Chicago Tribune.
During the trial Kim Smith gave false testimony, alleging that Milliman became physically violent with her after she refused to have sex with him.
She has since plead guilty to disorderly conduct and filing a false police report. Her sentencing, which will be held on June 7, has her facing anywhere from one to six years in prison.
Smith apologized to his wife in court saying, ‘I’m sorry I screwed up so much, sorry I screwed up and threw it all away.’
Milliman’s friends and family declined to comment on the sentencing, though they have been vocal throughout the trail.
As Smith read out his apologies, Milliman’s brother Scott pointedly covered his ears, reported the Sun-Times.
‘Kurt was and always will be … the best brother me and my sister could ever ask for,’ Scott Milliman said previously. ‘Kurt had hundreds, if not thousands, who were proud to call him friend.’
‘You took away a very good man.’
