Kyle Cooper (Rock Falls Police Department).
An Illinois man will spend the next two decades behind bars for admittedly killing one of his friends in a fit of jealous rage.
Earlier this month, Kyle M. Cooper, 36, accepted a plea deal over the Valentine’s Day stabbing death of Daniel J. Gordon, 27.
Originally charged with one count of murder in the first degree and two counts of aggravated battery, the defendant eventually pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder.
On Thursday, Cooper formally entered his plea and made an allocution before Whiteside County Circuit Court Judge James Heuerman.
“This was all so stupid,” Cooper told the judge, according to a courtroom report by Shaw Local News Network. “I knew D.J. [Gordon]. I liked D.J. He was a friend of mine.”
In quick fashion, the defendant was sentenced to 20 years behind bars.
The underlying incident occurred during the early morning hours on Feb. 14, according to the Rock Falls Police Department.
Officers arrived at the house on West 20th Street at 1:50 a.m. in response to calls about a stabbing. Inside, police found the victim suffering from multiple “severe” stab wounds to his abdomen. Gordon was quickly transported to CGH Medical Center in Sterling – a small town located roughly 115 miles due west of Chicago.
Eventually, however, the victim succumbed to his injuries.
During the plea and sentencing hearing, Cooper explained how he was first dating a woman who Gordon later dated – but still considered themselves friends even as the woman came between them.
“He [Gordon] wanted me to stay away from his girlfriend, and I wanted him to stay away from mine,” Cooper told the court.
On the night of Feb. 13, Gordon and Cooper got into a verbal dispute at a bar, a detective previously testified at a preliminary hearing.
Gordon, for his part, left with the woman, and the pair planned on going to a friend’s house to play cards and dice. But on the way there, they passed by Cooper’s house – and another argument ensued.
The couple left, but Cooper followed, and the two friends confronted one another in the driveway of the Rock Falls house where the disagreements, humiliations and jealousies finally turned violent.
On Thursday, Cooper mused about the woman’s decision to leave with Gordon – saying he didn’t think she wanted to play cards that late.
“I hated it,” he said. “My purpose was to confront.”
Prosecutors previously laid out the final moments during a hearing in February, Shaw Local reported. As Cooper exited a vehicle, the woman saw something shiny in his hand and worried he was going to use a knife to vandalize her own vehicle. Shortly after, Cooper shoved the woman, Gordon intervened to try and protect her, and Cooper was soon on his back and stabbing him repeatedly. The defendant quickly left the scene but was arrested later that same night.
“I want that decision back,” Cooper said on Thursday.
Still, the condemned man said he was not there to ask for anything from the people who have to suffer most from Gordon’s death.
“I’m not entitled to your forgiveness, and I don’t ask for that,” the defendant told the gallery.
During impact statements, the victim’s family members remembered their loved one fondly and directly addressed his killer.
“I expect you to carry an insurmountable amount of guilt with you for the rest of your days,” Gordon’s brother said. “You will never be forgiven.”
The victim’s parents noted this was the second time they had to bury a child – having lost their daughter to illness at age 10.
“I do not know if or when anyone in my family will understand how something like this happens,” Gordon’s mother said. “He was my first. He made me a mom.”
The victim’s father said something inside of him “broke” when his son was killed.
“You deserve to be locked in a cage; you actually deserve worse,” Gordon’s father added. “When you get to hell, beware, I might be in charge.”
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Cooper received the maximum sentence of 20 years, with one year on supervised release. He was granted 97 days of credit for time spent in pre-trial detention.
