Cass County State’s Attorney Craig R. Miller announced today that on Friday a Cass County jury found a Jacksonville man guilty of first-degree murder and home invasion.
Benchy R. Couloute, 45, of Jacksonville was found guilty by the jury after over two-and-a-half hours of deliberation.
During the five-day trial, State’s Attorney Craig R. Miller presented the following evidence in court: on March 23rd, Couloute was captured on surveillance video stalking his ex-wife. Later that evening, additional surveillance footage showed the defendant driving through the DOT Foods parking lot in Mount Sterling, where both his ex-wife and the victim, Junior N. Kalonji, 37, were employed. In the early morning hours of March 24th at approximately 12:30 a.m., the defendant was seen placing a GPS tracking device on his ex-wife’s vehicle. Just under an hour later, at 1:17 a.m., a surveillance video captured the defendant pursuing her vehicle. Cellular data analysis presented by the State further tracked the defendant’s movements during the overnight hours of March 23 and March 24. At approximately 6:48 a.m., the defendant’s ex-wife departed a residence located at 1200 State Street in Beardstown. Minutes later, at 6:55 a.m., a vehicle believed to be driven by Couloute was observed approaching the same location. He said to then unlawfully entered the residence at 1200 State Street, where he fatally stabbed Kalonji 12 times in the neck. At approximately 7:11 a.m., surveillance footage showed a vehicle believed to be driven by Couloute leaving the area. A subsequent investigation revealed the victim’s blood and the defendant’s DNA inside the vehicle.
Investigators later determined that Couloute had fled to the state of Indiana. In conjunction with Illinois State Police special agents, members of the Indiana State Police located and arrested Couloute in early April.
Upon return of the verdict, Judge Timothy J. Wessel ordered that Couloute remain in custody pending sentencing. Judge Wessel set Couloute’s next court appearance for September 8th at 1:30 p.m. He could face between 20 and 60 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for Kalonji’s murder.
Cass County State’s Attorney Craig Miller released the following statement on the case: “I hope this verdict provides some justice for Junior Kalonji’s family and community. Mr. Couloute’s premeditated murder was violent and cold-blooded. My special thanks to all the agents at the Illinois State Police Zone 4 Investigations for the many hours they dedicated to this case, which led to a successful conviction on the most serious charge of murder. I am also thankful for the officers of the Beardstown Police Department and the deputies with the Cass County Sheriff’s Office.”