Arlington Heights man admits killing grandmother

An Arlington Heights man pleaded guilty to charges of first-degree murder in the 2010 death of his 86-year-old grandmother.

Daniel G. Levine, 26, entered the plea Wednesday afternoon during a hearing before Cook County Judge Joel Greenblatt, said a spokeswoman for the Cook County state's attorney's office.

Greenblatt sentenced Levine to 40 years in prison for killing Sylvia Lev. He must serve the entire sentence — minus the time he has spent in Cook County jail since his arrest — before he is eligible for parole.

Authorities say Levine spent part of Oct. 22, 2009, in Chicago smoking crack cocaine before returning to the Arlington Heights home he had shared with Lev for several months. They say he attacked Lev with a knife, stabbing her 16 times, because he said she belittled and antagonized him.

At the time, police charged Levine with attempted murder and aggravated battery. After Lev's death in January 2010, prosecutors upgraded those charges to first-degree murder.