WOODSTOCK – Throughout his four-day trial, 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 Signorile’s 45th birthday. He remains in McHenry County jail. 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. Family members of Mathieu or Signorile, or the defendant himself, may testify at a public hearing before Judge Prather pronounces sentence.
The jury deliberated only about 80 minutes on Nov. 22, after prosecutors Robert Zalud and Patrick Kenneally delivered emotional closing arguments that same morning. 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.
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.”
Playing a role in the trial were two Neighborhood 10 residents, who were neighbors of the couple. Many residents of Neighborhood 10 have said Signorile and Mathieu maintained a strong level of privacy with no interest in socializing.
In a fiery 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 by saying, “There’s so much we don’t know. We know he went to Jewel to buy things, including flowers,” he 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.”
Signorile remains in McHenry County jail and his $2 million bond has been revoked because of his conviction. After sentencing, he will be turned over to the Illinois Department of Corrections, which will select the state prison facility to which he will be transferred.
Meanwhile, an appeal process in the appellate courts of Illinois will be launched about Dec. 15, according to Public Defender Angelo Mourelatos.
“The first step in this process is to file a request for a new trial within 30 days of the verdict,” Mourelatos said. “We have no optimism that it will be granted, but it is a first step in a process that state law grants in these cases. It will be handled by an appeals attorney in the appellate court system starting early next year. That process will take several months and could last for years.”
