A 67-year-old Mt. Vernon man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in connection with a 2025 Jefferson County homicide.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced Wednesday that Peter M. Harris entered the guilty plea in Jefferson County Circuit Court. Judge Jerry E. Crisel imposed the 20-year sentence. The Attorney General’s Office prosecuted the case after it was referred by the Jefferson County State’s Attorney’s Office.
The charges stemmed from a March 2025 investigation after Mt. Vernon police responded to Harris’ home in the 600 block of South 15th Street for a report of an unconscious man who was not breathing. Investigators determined that 56-year-old Patrick Williamson died from blunt force trauma to the head. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office assisted with the investigation.
Harris is the second defendant sentenced in the case. Laura Beneway, 61, of Mt. Vernon, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 20 years in prison on June 25th.
A third defendant, 69-year-old Eddie Bennett of Mt. Vernon, was found guilty of first-degree murder by a Jefferson County jury in June 2025. Bennett is scheduled to return to court on August 25th and his case continues to be handled by the Jefferson County State’s Attorney’s Office.