Woman Sentenced For Stabbing Sister To Death

KANE COUNTY, IL – A 57-year-old Carpentersville woman has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for stabbing her older sister to death in 2014, prosecutors said. Sandra L. Baumgartner pleaded guilty but mentally ill in February to first-degree murder for killing her sister, Sharon Baumgartner, on September 29, 2014, according to a news release from the Kane County State's Attorney's Office. Prosecutors said Sandra Baumgartner, of the 100 block of South Lincoln Avenue in Carpentersville, stabbed her sister multiple times with a knife.

A psychologist later diagnosed Sandra Baumgartner with schizophrenic affective disorder bi-polar type, according to the news release.

According to Illinois law, Baumgartner must serve 100 percent of the sentence. She receives credit for 1,325 days served in the Kane County jail, where she has been held since her arrest.

“This defendant is a dangerous person who suffers from a significant mental illness. Incarceration is the only way to keep the public safe from her," Kane County State’s Attorney Joe McMahon said. "I wish there were better alternatives and opportunities for treatment. This sentence removes her from the community for what will likely be the rest of her life."

In this case, the finding of guilty but mentally ill means Baumgartner may receive appropriate mental health treatment as available from the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Photo via the Kane County State's Attorney's Office