Pot-Intoxicated Chicago Man Found Guilty, But Mentally Ill, of First Degree Murder and Two Counts of Aggravated Battery, Sentenced to 31 Years

From the State’s Attorney:

WILLIAM BISHOP SENTENCED TO 31 YEARS IN THE ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS FOR FIRST DEGREE MURDER AND AGGRAVATED DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE

Patrick D. Kenneally, McHenry County State’s Attorney, announced that on January 26, 2023, William Bishop, 44, of Chicago, Illinois, was sentenced to a total of thirty-one years in the Illinois Department of Corrections by the Honorable Judge Michael Coppedge. 

The case proceeded to a week-long bench trial which commenced on October 17, 2022. Judge Coppedge rejected the insanity defense and found Bishop guilty but mentally ill of First Degree Murder and two counts of Aggravated Battery. 

William Bishop

Bishop was also found guilty of two counts of Aggravated Driving Under the Influence.

Testimony at trial showed that on May 18, 2020, Jason Miller and Rory Fiali had just finished a job in Harvard and were traveling east on Vanderkarr Road in Hebron.

Bishop was traveling westbound on Vanderkarr Road when he accelerated, crossed the center line and deliberately crashed his vehicle into Miller and Fiali’s van.

While emergency personnel had to engage in extensive procedures to extract the victims from the van, Bishop walked away without visible injuries.

Miller died on scene and Fiali was critically injured from the crash and is still in an inpatient rehabilitation facility to this day as a result of injuries sustained from this crash.  

Expert testimony proved that Bishop was traveling between 80 and 87 miles per hour at the time of the collision and the victims’ van attempted evasive maneuvers to avoid the collision. 

Interviews of Bishop following the crash revealed that Bishop intentionally targeted Miller and Fiali’s van to cause a head on collision. 

Following the crash, Bishop was transported to the hospital for minor injuries and consented to testing which showed more than twice the legal limit of THC in his blood.

Moreover, a cannabis vaping device which contained THC was found in the open compartment area of Bishop’s vehicle along with other cannabis imbibing paraphernalia.   

Bishop faced between 20 and 74 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. 

Judge Coppedge sentenced Bishop to 24 years on the First Degree murder charge to be served at 100% to run consecutive to a 7 year sentence on an Aggravated Driving Under the Influence count to be served at 85%. The remaining counts merged.

This case was investigated by the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office Major Crash Investigation Unit. The case was prosecuted by Ashley Romito, Randi Freese and Ashur Youash of the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office. 


Comments

Pot-Intoxicated Chicago Man Found Guilty, But Mentally Ill, of First Degree Murder and Two Counts of Aggravated Battery, Sentenced to 31 Years — 3 Comments

  1. Monk is that what you see when you look in the mirror?

    You do brag about your pot consumption.

  2. Should have gone with a Jury trial and likely would have received a much lighter consequence.

    Who was Bishops Defense Attorney?

    Kenneally??

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