People v. DiVincenzo

After a jury trial in the circuit court of Du Page County, defendant was convicted of first degree murder (720 ILCS 5/9 — 1(a)(2) (West 1994)) and sentenced to 26 years’ imprisonment. The appellate court affirmed (No. 2 — 95—1454 (unpublished order under Supreme Court Rule 23)). We allowed defendant’s petition for leave to appeal (166 Ill. 2d R. 315).

BACKGROUND

The case was presented to the grand jury on June 16, 1993. The State presented evidence showing that defendant had beaten the victim, Joseph Novy, following an argument between the two young men on May 27, 1993. At some point during the…