A Rock Falls, Illinois, man will spend two decades in prison after he pleaded guilty to killing one of his friends in a fit of jealous rage.
Earlier this month, Kyle M. Cooper, 36, accepted a plea deal over the Valentine's Day stabbing death of Daniel J. Gordon, 27.
Originally charged with one count of murder in the first degree and two counts of aggravated battery, Cooper eventually pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder.
On Thursday, Cooper formally entered his plea and made an allocution before Whiteside County Circuit Court Judge James Heuerman. He was then sentenced to 20 years behind bars.
Cooper Previously Dated a Woman Gordon Later Dated
The incident took place in the early hours of Feb. 14, according to the Rock Falls Police Department. Officers arrived at the house on West 20th Street at 1:50 a.m. in response to calls about a stabbing. When they arrived on scene, they found the victim suffering from multiple "severe" stab wounds to his abdomen.
Gordon was quickly transported to CGH Medical Center in Sterling – a small town located roughly 115 miles due west of Chicago. However, he later succumbed to his injuries.
During the plea and sentencing hearing, Cooper explained how he was first dating a woman who Gordon later dated – but still considered themselves friends even as the woman came between them. "He [Gordon] wanted me to stay away from his girlfriend, and I wanted him to stay away from mine," Cooper told the court.
Gordon and Cooper Got into a Verbal Dispute at a Bar in the Moments Leading Up to the Stabbing
On the night of Feb. 13, Gordon and Cooper got into a verbal dispute at a bar, a detective previously testified at a preliminary hearing. Gordon, for his part, left with the woman, and the pair planned on going to a friend's house to play cards and dice. But on the way there, they passed by Cooper's house – and another argument ensued.
The couple left, but Cooper followed, and the two friends confronted one another in the driveway of the Rock Falls house where the disagreements, humiliations and jealousies finally turned violent.
Cooper: 'My Purpose was to Confront'
"I hated it," Cooper said. "My purpose was to confront."
Prosecutors said, as Cooper exited a vehicle, the woman saw something shiny in his hand and worried he was going to use a knife to vandalize her own vehicle.
Shortly after, Cooper shoved the woman, Gordon intervened to try and protect her, and Cooper was soon on his back and stabbing him repeatedly. The defendant quickly left the scene but was arrested later that same night.
"I want that decision back," Cooper said on Thursday.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Cooper received the maximum sentence of 20 years, with one year on supervised release. He was granted 97 days of credit for time spent in pre-trial detention.
