Galesburg mother sentenced to 53 years for killing daughter
GALESBURG — Hazel Ivy has been sentenced to serve 53 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for killing her 7-year-old daughter.
Ivy, 31, will serve 100% of the sentence provided by Circuit Court Judge Andrew Doyle during a Sept. 29 hearing. Ivy plead guilty but mentally ill to the charge of of first degree murder in June.
According to a news release provided by Knox County State’s Attorney Jeremy Karlin, the court heard testimony from a forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on 7-year-old Willow Banks. The pathologist testified that the child suffered multiple stab wounds, blunt force trauma to the back of her head in addition to injuries consistent with strangulation.
Before pleading guilty but mentally ill, Ivy was facing 20-60 years, eligible for life, for two counts of first degree murder. The plea limited Ivy’s possible sentence range to 20-53 years, with a mandated 100% of the sentence to be served.
During a previous hearing in February, Galesburg Police Department detective Travis Smith testified he was notified of a potential homicide in the early morning hours of Jan. 24, 2021. Officers then located the body of a deceased young girl in an upstairs bedroom of an apartment in the Cedar Creek public housing complex.
Smith testified he interviewed Ivy at the police station where she stated she had “snapped.”
This article originally appeared on Galesburg Register-Mail: Hazel Ivy sentenced to 53 years for killing of daughter in Galesburg
