By Raul Castillo
16 Jul 2024, 21:36 PM EDT
A former Illinois caregiver, Dmitri G. Rogatchev, 46, has been sentenced to 60 years in prison for the murder of Sandra Jackson, a 75-year-old woman who was in his care. The crime occurred when the man beat her to death after becoming frustrated with how loud she kept the volume on her television.
Tenth Circuit Judge John P. Vespa issued the sentence Monday, ensuring that Rogatchev will spend the rest of his life in a state penitentiary, Law&Crime reported.
The incident occurred in 2019. According to prosecutors, during an argument over noise, Rogatchev became enraged and physically assaulted the elderly woman, causing fatal brain injuries. A Peoria County jury found Rogatchev guilty of first-degree murder last month.
The crime
Early in the morning on December 3, 2019, officers with the Peoria Police Department responded to a 911 call about an unconscious elderly woman at an apartment complex in the 500 block of NE Monroe.
Upon arrival, they found Jackson in an unconscious state and immediately transported her to OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center.
Rogatchev, Jackson’s live-in caregiver, told police that Jackson had consumed wine along with her prescription medication, which included hydrocodone and muscle relaxers, before falling asleep.
He claimed Jackson woke him up again around 2 a.m. to ask for more painkillers, but he refused. According to Rogatchev, Jackson fell while walking away, and he picked her up, sat her in a chair, and then called 911.
The arrest
However, later that morning, a hospital administrator informed authorities that they believed Jackson was a victim of elder abuse, as he had suffered serious, life-threatening injuries.
At 6:19 a.m., police received this notification and, on December 4, they arrested Rogatchev, initially charging him with aggravated domestic battery. That same day, Jackson succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead.
Rogatchev’s initial statements were contradicted by medical tests. The emergency room doctor who treated Jackson reported that no alcohol was found in his blood and that the brain injuries could not have been caused by a fall.
A subsequent autopsy confirmed the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, classifying the death as a homicide.
In a second interview with police, Rogatchev admitted that he became angry and hit Jackson in the head, although he claimed he was so angry that he did not remember exactly what had happened.
The Peoria County State’s Attorney’s Office noted that under Illinois law, Rogatchev must serve 100 percent of his 60-year sentence, without the possibility of parole.
With information from Law&Crime.
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