Maria Pacheco sentenced to 30 years

MARSHALL, Ill. (WTHI) - Maria Pacheco learned her fate in a Clark County, Illinois courtroom.

It was a family divided today in the Marshall, Illinois courtroom.

Everyone looking for some sort of closure to the events of last July.

Maria's parents and siblings were at today's sentence hearing, and sitting on the other side of the courtroom was the rest of Arnulfo's family.

Illinois state law requires Maria to be tried as on adult.

For the first degree murder charge, she received 30 years in jail.

Illinois does not allow for good time credit in murder cases, so the 16-year-old will serve all 30 years for assisting in the murder and helping plan it.

Her attorney said her actions were out of character, and he hoped that, along with her good behavior, would lead to a lighter sentence.

But the sentence doesn't change what the family is going through.

"The testimony and the evidence presented at the hearing show that this is such a strange aborition," Richard Kash, Pacheco's attorney, said. "I guess the sentencing brings closure to the court system in terms of this horrible circumstance. The Pacheco family is going to be dealing with this forever."

Kash did say he will appeal for a shorter sentence for Maria. The state minimum is 20 years.

Illinois State Attorney Dennis Simonton wouldn't talked to News 10 on camera, but he did say that Arnulfo Pacheco's family is satisfied with the outcome of both sentences.

He credits overwhelming evidence and tremendous police work in putting both individuals behind bars.

Maria Pacheco will move from the detention center to the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice to begin her sentence.

Maria Pacheco and her former boyfriend, Jarrod Riley, are both accused of murdering Pacheco's uncle, Arnulfo.

Arnulfo was found dead in his Marshall, Illinois home last July.

His truck was missing, and so was his niece Maria.

Police later arrested Maria and her then boyfriend Jarrod Riley in Camden, Tennessee.

The two confessed to planning the murder, but it was Riley who actually killed Arnulfo.

He took a plea deal, and he received 53 years in prison on Wednesday.

Maria went to trial and was found guilty of 1st degree murder.