PEORIA, Ill. – A Peoria man has pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated domestic battery for an attack that seriously injured his 72-year-old mother earlier this year.
The Peoria County State’s Attorney’s Office says 50-year-old Matthew J. Howarter entered the guilty plea Monday.
Prosecutors say the victim suffered a brain bleed, multiple facial fractures and broken ribs. She has since died from natural causes unrelated to the attack.
The attack happened April 5 at the Super 8 Motel on West War Memorial Drive.
According to prosecutors, the woman told police Howarter punched her in the face and body, grabbed her by the neck and threw her into an oxygen tank during an attack that lasted more than an hour.
The woman told investigators she was unable to leave or call for help until Howarter briefly left the room, allowing her to contact the motel’s front desk. An employee then called the police and an ambulance.
Howarter faces up to 13-and-a-half years in prison under the plea agreement.
He is scheduled to be sentenced December 11.
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