OTTAWA, Ill. — Editor's note: The video above is from Jan. 27.
An appellate court has denied the resentencing request of one of Adrianne Reynolds' killers this week.
Sarah Kolb, 34, is one of the individuals convicted of murdering and dismembering the body of 16-year-old Adrianne Reynolds back in 2005. Kolb was 16 at the time and was sentenced to 53 years in prison.
Back in January, Kolb's defense team asked the Third District Appellate Court in Ottawa to reduce her sentence, alleging that the judge in the original case did not take several factors into account when deciding her sentence, such as age, competence and family background.
Her legal team also argued that the sentence is a cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment — due to her age of 16 years at the time of the murder, her case conflicts with a 2019 Illinois Supreme Court decision that ruled that any sentence over 40 years for a juvenile is considered a life sentence.
Wednesday's decision says Kolb's team failed to show evidence that the original judge did violate her Eighth Amendment rights.
Read the full decision below:
The case was similar to a previous request for clemency in Kolb's case that was initiated in 2022 but was halted due to "unforeseen circumstances" and a previously failed sentence reduction request.
Just under a year ago, a Rock Island County judge upheld the 45-year sentence of Harli Quinn, formerly known as Cory Gregory.
At that time, Reynolds' stepmother, Joann Reynolds, took the stand to read a victim impact statement. She told the court she was disgusted, saying Adrianne was the one who had been given the death penalty.
"It's been 17 years since her life was taken. Every day of my life, I think about her fighting and kicking for her life. I think about her gasping for air. I think about body parts down that manhole," Joann said.
Watch more about this case on News 8's YouTube channel