Janet Strickland | Homicide Watch Chicago

67-year-old woman gets 18 years for convincing grandson to kill his grandfather William Strickland for his money

Jeff Mayes — Thu, 04 Aug 2016 10:46:09 -0500

Janet Strickland | Cook County Sheriff's Dept.

A 67-year-old woman was sentenced to 18 years in prison Wednesday for urging her grandson to kill his namesake grandfather, William Strickland, outside their Far South Side home in 2013.

Janet Strickland encouraged 23-year-old William Strickland to shoot her husband of nearly 30 years six times in the back on March 2, 2013, according to Cook County prosecutors.

Prosecutors said she was tired of her husband’s unwillingness to spend money and wanted “nice things."

The 72-year-old man had just walked out of their home in the 400 block of East 95th Street to grab a bus to his weekly dialysis treatment when he was shot, prosecutors said.

William Strickland | Chicago Police

Janet Strickland persuaded her grandson to pull the trigger so they could spend the elderly man’s money, prosecutors said. William Strickland later used money from his grandfather’s wallet to buy a new phone, gym shoes and tattoos.

Lesley Strickland, the daughter of the elder William Strickland, testified that she rushed from her home in Milwaukee when she got the news.

She said she was greeted by her drunk stepmother, who started giving away furniture and discussing how she would redecorate while treating family and friends to pizza, tacos and White Castle.

The next day, Janet Strickland went to Rent-A-Center and came back with a 60-inch television and TV stand with a built-in fireplace and refrigerator, Lesley Strickland said.

“There was no remorse, no crying,” she said.

William Strickland | photo provided

She said her stepmother was still partying even after the younger William Strickland was jailed for his grandfather’s murder in late March that year.

When Lesley Strickland told Janet Strickland detectives may soon start questioning her, she said she “doesn’t have anything to hide” and spent the day at a casino in Milwaukee.

A few days later, on April 4, 2013, Lesley Strickland visited her son at Cook County Jail and asked, “Why? … What happened?”

“He put his head down,” Lesley Strickland said. “Eventually, he looked up and told me [Janet Strickland] had it done.”

Janet Strickland had given the younger William Strickland a car to ensure he’d “keep his mouth closed” about what had happened, Lesley Strickland said.

Janet Strickland was convicted in April of numerous charges, including murder and solicitation of murder, Cook County Circuit Court records show. A judge handed down the 18-year sentence Wednesday.

The younger William Strickland, who lived with his grandparents, used his grandfather’s own gun in the killing, prosecutors said. He was convicted of murder in February and sentenced to 40 years in prison.

--Chicago Sun-Times Wire and Chicago Sun-Times

William Strickland gets 40 years for gunning down his namesake grandfather in 2013 at their South Side home

Jeff Mayes — Wed, 23 Mar 2016 15:23:12 -0500

William Strickland | Cook County sheriff's office

By RUMMANA HUSSAIN
Chicago Sun-Times

A South Side man who gunned down his grandfather, allegedly at the urging of his grandmother, was sentenced to 40 years in prison Wednesday.

While Cook County Judge James Linn said it was sad that the adults in William Strickland’s life took him “down to the road of ruin,” he said Strickland had to take responsibility.

The 22-year-old didn’t make any comments before he was sentenced for killing his 72-year-old grandfather, also named William Strickland.

Janet Strickland | Cook County sheriff's office

The bench trial of Janet Strickland, 67, is expected to resume April 22 before Judge Linn.

William Strickland was convicted by a jury in February.

He shot his namesake grandfather six times in the back as the older man made his way outside their home to get on a bus for his weekly dialysis on March 2, 2013.

William Strickland | photo provided

The younger William Strickland, who lived with his grandparents in the 400 block of East 95th Street, used his grandfather’s weapon, prosecutors said.

Soon after the murder, the younger William Strickland used money he took from his grandfather’s wallet to buy a new phone, gym shoes and tattoos.

William Strickland found guilty of fatally shooting his grandfather, whose wife is also facing murder charge

Jeff Mayes — Fri, 19 Feb 2016 09:56:58 -0600

Janet Strickland (left) and William Strickland | Chicago Police

By RUMMANA HUSSAIN
Chicago Sun-Times

William Strickland was named after his grandfather and lived with the elderly man on the South Side. But the young man was under the influence of another senior living in the home, his grandmother.

When she suggested he should kill off his grandfather so they could spend his money, the younger William Strickland pulled the trigger, Cook County prosecutors said.

William Strickland, 22, was found guilty of his grandfather’s murder after a jury deliberated for 2 1/2 hours Thursday night at the Leighton Criminal Court Building.

The bench trial of 67-year-old Janet Strickland, who is alleged to have coaxed the young man to shoot her husband, the elder William Strickland, also took place before Judge James Linn this week. But her trial was continued to March 21.

William Strickland | photo provided

Assistant Public Defender Christopher Anderson said his client was out escorting his girlfriend and her friend at a party “way up north” when Janet Strickland got a man nicknamed “Black” to shoot her husband of nearly 30 years.

However, prosecutors said once “Black” backed out of the plan through a sudden moral awakening or “sheer laziness,” William Strickland stepped up to the plate to fulfill his grandmother’s deadly request on March 2, 2013.

The 72-year-old grandfather was gunned down as he made his way outside his home in the 400 block of East 95th Street to catch a ride for his weekend dialysis appointment about 3:30 a.m.

Only someone close to the older William Strickland would know his routine, Assistant State’s Attorney Jason Poje said in his closing arguments.

“This was the epitome of an inside job,” Poje said.

The younger William Strickland used his grandfather’s gun to shoot him multiple times in the back.

“Our families are supposed to be a lifelong source of unconditional love and support,” Poje said.

After he killed his grandfather, he spent the elder’s money to buy a car, cellphone and some tattoos.

“He did it for nothing more than greed. It wasn’t enough that he had a roof over his head,” Poje said.

Prosecutor Christa Bowden reminded jurors that even if the younger William Strickland only solicited his grandfather’s death, he would be guilty of murder.

The grandfather “thought he had a family to rely on in his golden years,” Bowden said. “Instead he got six bullets.”

The younger William Strickland faces 20 to 60 years in prison.

Trial begins for William Strickland's wife and grandson, who are charged with the elderly man's 2013 murder

Jeff Mayes — Wed, 17 Feb 2016 17:07:31 -0600

Janet Strickland (left) and William Strickland | Chicago Police

By RUMMANA HUSSAIN
Chicago Sun-Times

When Lesley Strickland learned her father, William Strickland, had been gunned down before his routine Saturday morning dialysis appointment, she rushed from her home in Milwaukee to Chicago's South Side.

Strickland said she was greeted by her drunk stepmother, who started giving away furniture and discussing how she would redecorate while treating family and friends to pizza, tacos and White Castle.

The next day, Janet Strickland went to Rent-A-Center and came back with a 60-inch television and television stand with a built-in fireplace and refrigerator, Lesley Strickland said.

"There was no remorse, no crying," Lesley Strickland recalled Wednesday of the time immediately after 72-year-old William Strickland's murder.

Cook County prosecutors say that's because Janet Strickland plotted to kill her husband of nearly three decades and enlisted the elderly man's namesake grandson—Lesley Strickland's son William Strickland—to do the deadly deed in the early morning hours of March 2, 2013, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting.

William Strickland | photo provided

Janet Strickland was tired of her husband's unwillingness to spend money and wanted "nice things," Assistant State's Attorney Christa Bowden said at the opening of the younger William Strickland's jury trial.

A bench trial for 67-year-old Janet Strickland is being held at the same time in Judge James Linn's courtroom. Both Stricklands are charged with murder.

Once Janet Strickland got rid of her husband, she had access to the cash to go on her sprees, Bowden said.

The younger William Strickland didn't hesitate to use his dead grandfather's money either, blowing it on tattoos, shoes and an iPhone, Bowden said.

The pair, who lived with the victim in the 400 block of East 95th Street, previously conspired on ways to kill the older William Strickland, Bowden said.

They allegedly proposed poisoning him, killing him in bed and also spoke to another man about offing him. And when that man bailed out, the grandson stepped up, Bowden said.

William Strickland, armed with his grandfather's own gun, fired six times, according to Bowden, who showed jurors a picture of the senior lying dead in a gangway by his home.

"His family was no comfort to him in his last moments because it was in their hands that he died," Bowden said.

Assistant Public Defender Samantha Slonim said Janet Strickland alone was to blame for her husband's murder.

Janet Strickland was hatching her "money-hungry murderous plan" with two other men while the younger William Strickland was driving his girlfriend and another woman home after a party, Slonim said.

"He is not a criminal mastermind," Slonim said of her now 22-year-old client. "He is not responsible for what happened."

Edward Cleveland, a Pace bus driver who was scheduled to take the older William Strickland to his appointment, said he saw two men after the gunfire.

One of the culprits took the older William Strickland's bag from him before fleeing, Cleveland said.

While Assistant Public Defender Amy Thompson didn't give an opening statement for Janet Strickland, she suggested during the trial that her client had given her husband a pillow and blanket to comfort him after he was shot.

The then-teenage William Strickland was "stone faced and solemn" while Janet Strickland was "upset and crying" standing behind the storm door, said Chicago Police officer Daniel Fava, who was among the first to arrive at the scene.

Lesley Strickland said her stepmother was still partying even after the younger William Strickland was jailed for his grandfather's murder in late March that year.

When Lesley Strickland told Janet Strickland detectives may soon start questioning her, she said she "doesn't have anything to hide" and spent the day at a casino in Milwaukee.

A few days later, on April 4, 2013, Lesley Strickland visited her son at Cook County Jail and asked, "Why? ... What happened?"

"He put his head down," Lesley Strickland said. "Eventually, he looked up and told me [Janet Strickland] had it done."

Janet Strickland had given the younger William Strickland a car to ensure that he'd "keep his mouth closed" about what had happened, Lesley Strickland said.

As she wiped away tears, Lesley Strickland also said her son denied he pulled the trigger.

"He told you, 'I didn't shoot grandpa?'" Lesley Strickland was asked during cross-examination.

"Yes," Lesley Strickland replied.