Life sentence

David Smith: I didn't kill Donna Bricker

August 30, 2023 11:22 am

Capitol City Now

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — A man has been sentenced for the brutal murder of a woman in Springfield.

David Smith was given a sentence of natural life in jail after he was charged with three counts of first degree murder.

In 2019, Smith entered 80-year-old Donna Bricker’s home. He strangled her with an electrical cord, stabbed her with scissors, and beat her with a blunt object.

In 1994, Smith was convicted of aggravated burglary and robbery for breaking into a 76-year-old woman’s house and stealing from her. The judge says this is part of the reason Smith was given a life sentence.

“You did all of this after spending decades of your life in prison for an eerily similar offense,” said Sangamon County Circuit Judge John Madonia, addressing Smith. “The court does not believe that you have rehabilitative potential that merits release from prison. The court needs to impose a sentence that protects the public from you forever.”

Bricker’s brother, daughter, and two granddaughters all shared victim impact statements about how Bricker’s murder hurt them. Her daughter read a poem that Bricker wrote before her death.

“We are very pleased with the sentence that the court imposed today,” said Sangamon County State’s Attorney Dan Wright. “Simply put, the defendant is a monster beyond any rehabilitative potential, and he received the only just sentence permitted by Illinois law.”

Smith did stand to address the courtroom, which was full of Bricker’s family and friends. He apologized for the pain the family is going through, but asserted that he did not kill Bricker.