Illinois man sentenced for killing wife in front of children weeks after she filed for divorce

KANE COUNTY, Ill. (TCN) -- A 48-year-old man has been sentenced to natural life in prison without parole for fatally shooting his wife, who had recorded the encounter.

Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser announced July 19 that a judge sentenced Timothy Gordon to 50 years in prison for the first-degree murder of his wife, Yahaira Gordon. Mosser said Timothy Gordon faced an additional 25 years to natural life without parole because he used a firearm to carry out the killing. Gordon pleaded guilty in January.

Six weeks before her death, the victim had reportedly filed for divorce from Gordon, but he continued to stay in the basement. Prosecutors said Gordon's wife lived in an upstairs bedroom with her mother, aunt, and her four children.

According to the state's attorney's office, on the morning of Oct. 31, 2022, Gordon discovered that his wife may have been trying to obtain an order of protection against him, which would have forced him out of the house.

Prosecutors said Gordon "became upset and pushed his way into the bedroom" while his wife and her aunt, mother, and a 2-year-old and 7-year-old were in the room. He reportedly went up to his wife with a gun and shot her in the left temple, killing her "instantly."

The victim reportedly recorded the incident on her cellphone, "fearing that there would be a confrontation."

Judge Clint Hull concluded that Gordon had "executed" his wife.

Hull considered Gordon's criminal past when imposing his sentence. The defendant had previously been convicted of armed violence and robbery in Cook County in 1994, aggravated battery with a firearm in Champaign County in 2000, and aggravated DUI in Cook County in 2011. He had also been convicted of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon in Mississippi in 2017, for which he was still on parole for when he fatally shot his wife, according to prosecutors.

Assistant State’s Attorney Sams said, "Nothing can bring Yahaira back for her family and loved ones who traveled thousands of miles to attend the sentencing hearing. But their presence, and their words through the victim impact statements that were read in court, are testimony to Yahaira’s beautiful life that was taken away so senselessly."