1993 Murders: 90-Year Sentence Affirmed By Appeals Court

BARTLETT, IL — An appellate court has affirmed two concurrent 90-year prison sentences for a man convicted of brutally murdering his friend's parents, Diana and Peter Robles, for $100 in Bartlett in 1993. Sean Helgesen, who was 17 at the time of the murders, must serve 50 percent of his sentence before he becomes eligible for parole.

Helgesen was first arrested in 1993 after coming to the Robles' home with their son, Eric, and stabbing Peter Robles 22 times in the face, neck, chest and arms, according to prosecutors. Helgesen then stabbed Diana, who was on crutches due to having polio as a child, 29 times in the face, neck, chest and arms, prosecutors said.

Helgesen had appealed the 1995 sentence as unconstitutional on the grounds that he was a juvenile, and it was a de facto life sentence. The court disagreed on the grounds that Diana was physically handicapped, which the judge said warrants an extended sentence.

Additionally, courts can sentence a juvenile to a natural or de facto life sentence if “the trial court determines that the defendant’s conduct showed irretrievable depravity, permanent incorrigibility or irreparable corruption beyond the possibility of rehabilitation,” according to the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office.

Helgesen will turn 45 in February.

Eric Robles, who prosecutors say hired Helgesen, was found guilty but mentally ill in 1994 and sentenced to life in prison. Robles later had his sentence reduced to 100 years.

DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said of Helgesen in a news release, "The brutal, pre-meditated murder of Peter and Diana Robles is among the worst crimes DuPage County has ever had to endure and shook the entire community to its core, the reverberations of which can still be felt today. The Appellate Court’s decision ensures that Mr. Helgesen will be held accountable for his actions to the fullest extent of the law."