WOODSTOCK – Throughout his four-day trial this week, former Sun City resident Robert Signorile was portrayed as a wild, violent man, who viciously abused and beat his girlfriend, Michelle Mathieu.
On Friday, Nov. 22, he stood calmly, impassively, and expressionless, as a McHenry County criminal court jury convicted him of first degree murder. They unanimously agreed with prosecutors, who said he physically abused her so badly on March 17-18, 2012, and earlier, that he caused her death on March 24, 2012.
The guilty verdict came on the day before the 45-year-old Signorile’s 45th birthday. He remains in McHenry County jail. There was no immediate information on a possible appeal from public defenders Angelo Mourelatos and Rick Behof. Judge Sharon Prather set Jan. 24 as the date for sentencing. Illinois law specifies a sentence range of 20-60 years for this crime, to be determined at the discretion of the judge.
On Nov. 22, former Sun City renter Robert Signorile was charged in McHenry County Court with first-degree murder of his then-girlfriend Michelle Mathieu. (Photo provided)
The jury deliberated only about 80 minutes after Prosecutors Robert Zalud and Patrick Kenneally delivered emotional and passionate closing arguments on the morning of Nov. 22. Signorile himself did not testify. His lawyers reportedly did not call any witnesses for the defense and introduced two prepared statements when their turn came to present their case.
Mathieu’s family members, including son Michael Mathieu-Duran, brother Charles, two sisters, and a granddaughter, attended the trial every day. They reacted with relief and hugged each other when the verdict was read by Judge Prather.
“This does not provide closure for us, I don’t think anything ever will, but it gives us some degree of comfort that he won’t hurt anyone else again,” Mathieu-Duran said. “The prosecutors couldn’t have painted a better picture of Signorile than they did. They did an outstanding job.”
Mathieu-Duran also said he and his family have become deeply involved in domestic abuse-related causes.
“We have made talks, raised money, and made donations in Michelle’s name to many organizations that serve abused women,” he said. “We will do that for the rest of our lives. Michelle was a huge part of our family; she was the core of it. Losing her has been intensely difficult for so many of us.”
Playing a role in the trial were two Sun City Neighborhood 10 residents, who were neighbors of the couple. They testified for the prosecutors about their observations of the couple and their rented house. Many residents of Neighborhood 10 have said that Signorile and Mathieu maintained a strong level of privacy and showed no interest in socializing.
In an emotional closing argument, Prosecutor Robert Zabul showed the jury a picture of Mathieu, saying, ”this is Michelle, a mother, grandmother, and a sister. She opened up and gave her life to this belligerent drunk. Her only mistake was giving him her love and trust.”
Standing in front of Signorile, he said. “This man killed a neighbor, murdered a mother and grandmother, and turned her into page 9 of a pathologist’s autopsy report. This is a classic case of domestic abuse, it isn’t rocket science. He beat her time and time again.
“His responses are ridiculous and preposterous. While she lay there, unconscious, he goes to a store, buys a bottle of vodka, and comes back home. After she was taken to Sherman Hospital, he drives there with a friend, but sits in the car in the parking lot; he never went inside to see or talk with doctors or family members.
“Three doctors testified that her injuries were most probably caused by blunt force trauma. The only common sense answer to all this is that it was murder.”
For the defense, Public Defender Rick Behof tried to cast doubt in jurors’ minds.
“There’s so much we don’t know. We know he went to Jewel to buy things, including flowers,” Behof said. “But we don’t really know what happened in the home. We know that on 4:30 p.m. on March 18, he expressed concern for her well-being and called a friend for help. The prosecution has introduced a lot about his behavior. But he isn’t on trial for his behavior. He’s on trial for murder. She never made any official complaints about him, and there were no signs of a struggle in the home. There is so much here that we don’t know, it’s not enough to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that this was murder.”
In a final argument, prosecutor Patrick Kenneally said, “You can’t just look at the events of March 17-18, 2012, you have to look at the big picture, the patterns. This was not an unfortunate incident or an accident, it was a crime.”
Signorile and Mathieu moved into the Neighborhood 10 home in August, 2011, after living in Carol Stream for two years. A domestic abuse complaint against Signorile was made to Huntley police shortly afterward, and Mathieu showed up with bruises. Signorile pleaded guilty to a charge of domestic battery, a misdemeanor. He moved out but returned in January, 2012.
