MURPHYSBORO, Ill. (AP) — A 25-year prison sentence has been handed a southern Illinois man who admitted his role in the 2017 murder and dismemberment of a DeSoto man.
Jackson County State’s Attorney Mike Carr on Monday said 54-year-old James Michael Deese, also of DeSoto, was sentenced for first-degree murder in the death of Frank Stonemark. Other charges against Deese were dismissed as part of a plea agreement contingent on his cooperation in the case of Carmen Stonemark, the victim’s wife.
In his announcement Monday, Carr said the wife colluded with Deese to murder her husband. Deese told investigators he strangled Frank Stonemark and, with the help of Carmen Stonemark, dismembered his body and burned it.
Carmen Stonemark was sentenced in July 2019 to 20 years in prison.
