Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Marshall County man formally charged in ex-girlfriend's death



of the Journal Star
Posted Apr 14, 2009 @ 03:04 PM

LACON —

Tony Smith shot his estranged girlfriend five times with a 12-gauge shotgun Saturday night and then beat her with the butt of that weapon, an investigator testified Tuesday in a Marshall County murder case.

Smith, 39, was formally charged Tuesday with first-degree murder in the death of Judith Berchtold, 49, of Sparland, and a $1 million warrant was issued for his arrest.

Smith remains under police guard at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria, where he was taken after being shot by a part-time Lacon police officer when he refused to drop his gun as ordered at the shooting scene along Illinois Route 29 in Sparland, authorities said. 

But he’ll be taken into custody and brought to the Marshall County Jail as soon as he’s released from the hospital, said State’s Attorney Paul Bauer.

Testimony by an Illinois State Police investigator at a probable cause hearing needed for the warrant also provided a few further details about the shooting.

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