Man gets 40 years for killing girlfriend in Glendale Heights

After arguing with his girlfriend, Lorell D. Neal admitted Monday dragging her into the kitchen of their Glendale Heights home and fatally stabbing her.

In a plea deal, Neal was sentenced to 40 years in prison during an emotional hearing in which the anguish of the slain woman's mother filled the courtroom.

Neal, 30, pleaded guilty to the April 29, 2006, murder of Jennifer Mock, who grew up in the Elgin area, and with whom he had a young child.

Her mother, Lori Taylor, is raising both of her 25-year-old daughter's children. She accused Neal of being physically abusive throughout the couple's tumultuous relationship.

"For me, not a day goes by that I do not think of my daughter," Taylor said through tears. "Every day I miss her. I miss her voice. I miss her smile. I miss her laughter. I miss her advice. I miss my best friend.

"Her voice, and my memories, are all I have, and memories are no consolation when the pain is so sore and raw all I can do is cry. I cry as if my soul was ripped from my body."

Prosecutors Steven Knight and Michael Pawl said Mock's friend called 911 after witnessing the aftermath of the struggle. The frantic friend, Rachel Johnson, ran from the couple's red-brick home on Drummond Avenue and summoned police officers. Johnson reported seeing Neal drag Mock by her hair into their kitchen, where he grabbed a large knife.

Neal left before police and paramedics arrived. Johnson directed them to the couple's home. Rescuers found Mock with a single knife wound to the chest. They were unable to resuscitate her. The couple's young daughter was not physically injured.

Meanwhile, the search for Neal was under way. Police put out an alert to surrounding law-enforcement agencies to be on the lookout for Neal's black Chevrolet Impala. The DuPage County Major Crimes Task Force was called in to assist local police.

More than three hours after the 911 call, Neal surrendered after police spotted his car in Downers Grove.

Prosecutors said Neal confessed on videotape during questioning at the Glendale Heights police station. He also admitted driving to the Willow Springs chemical factory where he worked and tampering with a 20,000-gallon tank of hydrochloric acid and also a 13,000-gallon tank of sulfuric acid. No one was injured in the hazardous-materials spill.

Neal's only prior criminal history was a 1998 aggravated assault arrest in Cook County, which was dismissed without a conviction.

DuPage Associate Judge Mark Dwyer presided over Monday's plea deal. Neal must serve 100 percent of the 40-year prison term before being eligible for parole.

Taylor said her only comfort is knowing that she one day will be reunited with her daughter.

"This is what I look forward to happening," she said. "It is what gets me through each day."