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Yorkville man convicted in 2003 murder of Aurora woman · Kendall County News - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Yorkville man convicted in two thousand and three murder of
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  Speaker 1: Aurora woman. Written by Judy Harvey. This article is being
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  Speaker 1: read by an automated voice brought to you by Everlett.
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  Speaker 1: A Yorkville man has been found guilty in the two
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  Speaker 1: thousand and three shooting death of an Aurora woman. Prince L. Cunningham,
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  Speaker 1: fifty three, of Yorkville was found guilty by a jury
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  Speaker 1: of first degree murder in the May two thousand and
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  Speaker 1: three death of twenty two year old Tysha Belle of Aurora,
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  Speaker 1: The Caine County State's Attorney's Office said in a news
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  Speaker 1: release Wednesday, May twenty seventh. Cunningham was indicted and arrested
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  Speaker 1: for the crime on June fourteenth, twenty twenty two. He
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  Speaker 1: faces a sentence of between forty five and eighty five
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  Speaker 1: years in prison. The state's attorney's office said during the
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  Speaker 1: early morning hours of May ninth, two thousand and three,
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  Speaker 1: Taysha Belle left her Aurora apartment, where she lived with
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  Speaker 1: her sister and one year old daughter, to meet Cunningham.
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  Speaker 1: The state's Attorney's office said Cunningham, who was married at
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  Speaker 1: the time, was in a dating relationship with Bell and
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  Speaker 1: was the father of her daughter. The state's attorney's office said,
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  Speaker 1: Cunningham told Bell he would meet her outside the apartment
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  Speaker 1: and give her money to buy a new car. Bell
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  Speaker 1: left behind her purse, driver's license, and a burning candle,
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  Speaker 1: and was never seen or heard from again, the state's
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  Speaker 1: attorney's office said. In the months prior, Cunningham convinced Bell
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  Speaker 1: to end their court ordered child support arrangement and instead
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  Speaker 1: let him give her cash, the state's attorney's office said,
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  Speaker 1: and they frequently met to exchange money. In the days
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  Speaker 1: after Bell's disappearance, Cunningham lied to police about his relationship
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  Speaker 1: with Bell, stating that he hadn't spoken on the phone
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  Speaker 1: with her in months and claiming that he was not
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  Speaker 1: the father of their daughter. The state's attorney's office said.
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  Speaker 1: Cunningham called the Montgomery Police Department claiming that a pair
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  Speaker 1: of Converse shoes had been stolen from his car and
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  Speaker 1: suggested Bell may have been involved. The state's attorney's office
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  Speaker 1: said he had his phone deactivated and number changed, and
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  Speaker 1: he gave his car to his niece, creating a month's
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  Speaker 1: long delay for police attempting to locate and search the vehicle.
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  Speaker 1: The State's Attorney's office said in the release, Bell's disappearance
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  Speaker 1: was considered a missing person's case for seventeen years till
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  Speaker 1: December twenty twenty, when a surveyor found Bell's skeletal remains
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  Speaker 1: on property being developed in Montgomery. A conress shoe appearing
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  Speaker 1: to be the same age as the remains was also found.
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  Speaker 1: The state's Attorney's office said an autopsy and forensic analysis
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  Speaker 1: determined the remains belonged to Bell and that she had
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  Speaker 1: died from a single gunshot wound to the back of
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  Speaker 1: her head. The state's Attorney's office said while no verdict
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  Speaker 1: can restore the life that was taken from Taysha, we
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  Speaker 1: hope this decision brings them a measure of peace and
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  Speaker 1: the assurance that her life matters, her voice was not forgotten,
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  Speaker 1: and the person responsible has finally been held accountable. State's
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  Speaker 1: attorney Jamie L. Mosser said. Judge Julia Yetter set Cunningham's
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  Speaker 1: next court appearance for July thirty first, at one thirty
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  Speaker 1: pm for post trial motions. Cunningham remains in custody at
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  Speaker 1: the Kane County Jail