PEORIA – A natural life sentence has been handed down to the 44-year-old man found guilty in the murder of 35-year-old Zaneta Winters and 20-year-old Jakaiden Rynearson.
In February, Stevie A. Linwood Jr. was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder for the 2024 shooting of Winters, his girlfriend, and Rynearson – who sought to help Winters.
“The next time the defendant is taken out of prison, unshackled, will be in a pine box,” said Dave Gast, Assistant State’s Attorney, “and that is appropriate.”
Letters penned by the victims’ mothers were read during the sentencing hearing.
Winters’ mother discussed the impact on her grandchild – Linwood and Winters’ young child – who was at home during the shooting. She said her grandchild has faced nightmares, meltdowns, panic attacks and constant crying.
Following Winters’ death, her mother said the loss caused “a part of my soul to be ripped from my body.” Family, friends and co-workers gathered at her workplace to remember her on Aug. 20, 2024 – describing her “kind,” “dedicated” and “an uplifting person.”
Rynearson’s mother penned a letter in which she said her daughter’s death left an unfillable void. She described her child as “kind, considerate, and always willing to help others.”
The shooting occurred in the 3400 block of North El Vista Avenue on Aug. 11, 2024. Linwood shot Winters as she ran from the house screaming for help and Rynearson multiple times after she attempted to help.
Winters was pronounced dead the following day, while Rynearson, who was 19 years old when she was shot, spent months in the hospital in what Peoria County Coroner Jamie Harwood called a “continuous heroic fight” before her death.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Life sentence handed down in Peoria shooting that left two women dead
Reporting by Cassidy Waigand, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
