Joliet Cold Case Closed, Eric Glover Sr. Gets Life In 2002 Murder

JOLIET, IL - In the summer of 2002, Eric Glover Sr. was 30 years old when he was arrested by the Joliet Police Department and charged with murdering his 29-year-old girlfriend, Velma Franklin. The killing happened inside the young woman's house in the 600 block of 3rd Avenue. That was almost 16 years ago. This week, Will County Judge Carla Alessio Policandriotes brought the murder case to conclusion. She sentenced Glover, now 45, to spend the rest of his life in prison. Back in November, Glover opted for a bench trial instead of a jury trial, and Policandriotes found him guilty after hearing all the evidence.

Why did it take so long for the family of Velma Franklin to get justice? After all, 2002 articles in the Chicago Tribune reported how Eric Glover Sr. was being held in detention on a $2 million bond.

Back then, the leadership team running the Will County State's Attorney Office later dismissed their murder case against Glover, who lived in the 1000 block of Joliet's Lois Court apartments. Under current Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow, the unsolved murder probe was reopened, and charges were later refiled against Glover.

At the time of the slaying, Franklin was fatally shot inside her home while three of her small children were home, according to a 2002 Chicago Tribune article.

At Glover's November murder trial, Glasgow's prosecutors convinced the judge that Glover shot the 29-year-old woman in the head and then ran out the house before Joliet police arrived.

This week, Glover faced a prison term ranging from 45 years to life.

The State's Attorney's Office was represented by Frank Byers, Christine Vukmir and John Rickmon. After hearing arguments from both sides, Judge Policandriotes, who is retiring from the bench this summer, ordered Glover to spend the rest of his days behind the concrete walls of an Illinois penitentiary.

He will not be parole eligible, court records state.

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Mugshot of Eric Glover Sr. via Will County Sheriff's Department