Still no closure in Belvidere triple homicide

BELVIDERE, Ill.. (WTVO) – The 27-year-old man accused of killing a Belvidere dad and his two young sons in 2021 appeared in a Boone County courtroom Wednesday, dredging up feelings of anger and sorrow among local residents.

Alize Smith is charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of 31-year-old Andrew Hintt and sons, 7-year-old Benjamin and 5-year-old Sebastian. Their bodies were found on Dec. 19, 2021, inside their Union Avenue Home.

For some residents, Smith’s court appearance is a painful reminder that the family and the community have yet to receive closure.

“It does break my heart to see things like that happening in communities like this,” said Carlos Rivera, a local addiction counselor who’s not connected to the case.

Stateline resident Saul Bravo says he was shocked to hear that two of the victims were children.

“It’s an unfortunate situation,” Bravo said. “Who knows what goes through people’s mind when they do things like that, you know?”

According to prosecutors, Smith and Hintt were involved in selling marijuana and that one man owed the other $10,000 at the time Hintt and his boys were killed.

Rivera says it is up to the court to decide if Smith is guilty. But he says he has, unfortunately, seen cases like this before.

“Sometimes people become vengeful,” he said. “They become evil. They become bitter and angry and sometimes they have no self-control. Once they hit a peak of anger, it becomes rage.”

A trial date has not been set. Smith faces life in prison if convicted.

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