Woman, 55, is sentenced to 20 years in prison for making her lover murder her 76-year-old husband and then helping to dispose of his body because she feared he was going to cut her from his will
- Carmen Stonemark, 55, was sentenced to 20 years in prison over the 2017 murder of her 76-year-old husband Frank Stonemark
- Stonemark reported her husband missing in October 2017 and told police Frank had left their home in De Soto, Illinois following a fight
- He was missing for five months when James Deese, 52, came forward and admitted he had killed Frank with Stonemark’s help
- Deese told police he strangled Frank before he and Stonemark dismembered his body and burned the remains
- Stonemark had told Deese that her marriage wasn’t working out and that Frank had threatened to remove her from his will
An Illinois woman has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for making her lover murder her 76-year-old husband and then helping to dispose of his body because she feared he was going to cut her from his will.
Carmen Stonemark, 55, pleaded guilty last week to solicitation to commit murder and concealment of a homicidal death in relation to the 2017 killing of her husband Frank Stonemark.
Stonemark had reported her husband missing in October 2017 and lied to police when she told them Frank had left their De Soto home after an argument and failed to return.
Frank had been missing for five months when James Deese, 52, came forward and admitted to police that he had killed him with Stonemark’s help.
Carmen Stonemark, 55, (left) pleaded guilty last week to making her lover James Deese, 52, (right) murder her 76-year-old husband Frank Stonemark in De Soto, Illinois in 2017
Stonemark and Deese – who used to work for Frank – had been having an affair at the time.
She had told Deese that her marriage wasn’t working out and that Frank had threatened to remove her from his will.
Deese told police that the Stonemark had asked him to murder her husband.
He admitted to strangling the victim in front of Stonemark in their marital home before the pair removed his body and dumped it in a nearby rural area.
The pair later returned to dismember Frank’s body with a chainsaw and a number of other tools.
Stonemark had reported her husband missing in October 2017 and lied to police when she told them Frank had left their De Soto home after an argument and failed to return
Stonemark was charged in relation to Frank’s murder in July last year, which is the same month she filed an unsuccessful claim for her husband’s estate
Deese told authorities he cut off Frank’s arms, legs and head before sawing his torso in half.
Frank’s body parts were then put into barrels before being set on fire.
Stonemark then reported her husband missing and tried to conceal the crime by lying about a so-called argument, according to authorities.
She was charged in relation to his murder in July last year, which is the same month she filed an unsuccessful claim for her husband’s estate.
Stonemark was last week sentenced to 17 years in prison for the solicitation to commit murder charge and three years for the concealment charge.
Deese is still awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty in July last year to first-degree murder and concealment.