Sentence comes two months after conviction of murder
WOODSTOCK – On Jan. 24, Robert Signorile learned the consequence of his violent, abusive behavior toward Michelle Matthieu in Sun City in 2011 and 2012.
It is 40 years in prison. He must serve all of that time before parole is considered. He will be 85 years old when that time comes, in 2054. The decision was handed down within Illinois statutory guidelines for crimes of domestic abuse – 20 to 60 years. He will be credited for the approximate 22 months he has spent in McHenry County Jail.
McHenry County Judge Sharon Prather pronounced this sentence after hearing final statements last Friday from family members of both Matthieu and Signorile and statements by prosecutor Patrick Kenneally and defensive attorney Angelo Mourelatos.
Robert Signorile received a sentence of 40 years in prison for the murder of his former girlfriend Michelle Matthieu in 2012. (Photo provided)
Signorile remains in McHenry County Jail in Woodstock while an appeal of his sentence and/or conviction is begun. Prosecutors said Signorile will be turned over to the Illinois Department of Corrections and will be sent initially to Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill. A short time after that, he will be transferred to a state maximum security prison to be determined by the DOC.
Signorile was convicted of first degree murder on Nov. 21, 2013, by a county jury after a four-day trial. The jury found him guilty of domestic violence and of beating Ms. Matthieu so badly that she died of her injuries on March 24, 2012, in Sherman Hospital. The sentencing was pronounced exactly 10 months after her death.
“This brings a sense of closure to us.” Michelle’s sister, Marina, said. “Michelle was loving, giving, and accepting, but she was too loving, too giving, and too accepting of him, and a wonderful human being was taken from us in a violent and inhumane way. She is in God’s arms now.”
Charles Matthieu, Michelle’s brother, also attended the hearing.
Signorile himself made an emotional 20-second statement. “I loved her more than anyone in this room,” he said. “Her family abandoned her, and I took her in. To call me a killer is wrong, I don’t think so.”
“You destroyed a life,” Judge Prather said to Signorile. “There is no excuse for your behavior. Ms. Matthieu paid the ultimate price for it. I considered the fact that you had no arrests for 42 years of your life but there is no mitigating factor in this case that excuses or explains your actions.”
This brings an end to this incident, the worst crime in Sun City’s 14-year history. Matthieu and Signorile rented a home in N.10 for seven months in 2011 and 2012 before her death and his arrest.
