OTTAWA, Ill. (AP) — An Illinois man accused of beating to death a businessman and then incinerating his body and dumping the ashes into the Fox River has been found guilty of murder.
It took a LaSalle County jury three hours Friday to find 49-year-old William Horman of Dayton guilty of first-degree murder in the death of 47-year-old Robert Dowd, the Times in Ottawa reports. The sentencing of Horman was set for April 29. He faces up to 60 years in prison.
Prosecutors say Horman clubbed Dowd to death after a deal that would see him get a stake in a business fell through.
An accomplice, Jonathan Beckman, was also charged with murder and concealing the death. However, he entered into a plea deal in which murder charges were dropped in exchange for 2-1/2 years in prison for concealing Dowd’s death.
