Inset: Katherine Smith (Sangamon County Jail). Background: The house where a teenager was killed during a home invasion in 2018 (Google Maps).
This week, a woman from Illinois has admitted responsibility for participating in a home invasion and robbery, which resulted in a teenager’s death. However, it appears she may not spend a significant amount of time in prison.
On Monday, 26-year-old Katherine E. Smith entered a guilty plea for one count of home invasion. Prior to this, she faced first-degree murder charges related to the February 2018 death of 19-year-old Dohndre Hughes.
A plea bargain replaced the initial charge, resulting in Smith’s conviction by Sangamon County Circuit Court Associate Judge Rudolph Braud to 13 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for a single count of home invasion.
But several caveats are at play.
Since her arrest, Smith has been in pretrial custody for approximately 2,714 days, highlighted by Springfield-based ABC affiliate WICS. This duration is nearly 7 1/2 years in confinement.
Yet, according to Illinois sentencing guidelines, Smith could have qualified for early release due to good conduct after only 6 1/2 years, as noted by The Illinois Times.
Now, after being remanded into the custody of the local sheriff, Smith is expected to be processed by the prison system and then released.
Her lawyer argued successfully to the judge that her involvement in Hughes’s stabbing death on February 23, 2018, was relatively minor compared to at least one other individual charged in the case.
In June 2024, Dayne Woods, 26, was found guilty by a Sangamon County jury of first-degree murder, home invasion, armed robbery and theft. He was subsequently sentenced to 37 years in prison.
Prosecutors proved Woods was the one who wielded the knife that took Hughes’ life at his home on East Jackson Street in Springfield. The victim confronted Woods and was stabbed in the chest.
A third defendant, Mark D. Meszaros, 28, also went with Woods inside the house that day – where the occupants were first attacked with pepper spray in an attempt to subdue them, authorities say.
The pair shouted “police” as they entered in a further attempt to confuse those in the residence, according to courtroom report by the newspaper. One of the men even wore a “police shirt” to sell the subterfuge. In the end, $600 in cash was stolen.
Hughes was remembered fondly in his obituary:
He had a smile that could brighten anyone’s day and a laugh that was truly infectious. He never met a stranger that did not later on become his friend; he was the true definition of a people person. Dre loved spending time with his family playing cards, cooking meals and burning skillets. If he was not in a kitchen he was on a basketball court playing the game he loved most.
In January, Meszaros pleaded guilty to one count each of armed robbery and home invasion. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Smith, for her part, was not at the scene of the crime.
The woman did, however, provide Hughes’ address to the men who were on the hunt for cash and drugs. From the beginning, prosecutors never argued she knew there would be a confrontation, nor that Woods was armed, much less that it would all result in murder. Still, under the felony murder theory, the state pushed for hefty consequences.
Smith’s attorney argued the provision of that address was “induced” by domestic violence she suffered at Woods’ hands. The defense also brought attention to Smith’s educational journey. Prior to her arrest, she was a poor student at Lincoln Land Community College. After release on bond in 2024, Smith became a straight-A student.
During an allocution at her sentencing hearing, Smith admitted she was a “weak individual” when the crime was committed. She also said there were “so many things I should have done differently.”
The defendant also addressed the victim’s family.
“There will forever be a hole in my heart. I know it will never compare to what you have gone through,” she said.
The judge acknowledged both her lesser role and the substantial post-arrest changes she made in her life, the newspaper reported.
After being freed, Smith will remain on mandatory supervised release for 18 months, in addition to paying a civil judgment.
