Inset: Daniel N. Pace (Peoria County Jail). The apartment complex where Pace set his ex-girlfriend on fire (Google Maps).
A 43-year-old man from Illinois will likely spend his remaining years in prison after he poured vodka over his former girlfriend and set her on fire, resulting in burns that covered nearly a third of her body. Tenth Circuit Judge Stephen A. Kouri sentenced Daniel N. Pace to the maximum penalty of 60 years in prison, as announced by authorities on Wednesday.
In May, a jury convicted Pace of aggravated battery and aggravated domestic battery. The court concluded that his actions were “exceptionally brutal or heinous,” demonstrating wanton cruelty.
According to Illinois’ “Truth in Sentencing” laws, those convicted of certain violent crimes, like Pace, must serve at least 85% of their imposed sentence.
According to a news release from the Peoria County State Attorney’s Office, the horrid attack took place on Aug. 19, 2022, at the Landmark Apartment Complex in the 700 block of North Shipman Street. Pace and the victim had gotten into an argument and at some point, Pace “grabbed a bottle of vodka, poured it over her head, and then flicked a lighter — not once, but twice — setting her ablaze,” per the release.
The victim suffered severe and permanent injuries, with prosecutors saying that the burns covered 30% of her body, “including third-degree burns on 19% of her skin.”
Pace’s victim penned a “powerful” victim impact statement that was read aloud in court during the sentencing hearing in which she described the effect the attack had on her life.
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“She’s lost two jobs, and she may never be able to work again due to her injuries,” prosecutors wrote in the release. “The physical pain remains a daily struggle, but it’s not just the burns that have affected her; it’s the emotional, mental, and financial toll as well. Years later, she continues to battle daily pain and struggles to trust others, adding that it is something she wouldn’t wish on anyone.”
The judge also had some choice words for Pace, unleashing a stream of invectives against the convicted abuser, according to reporting from Peoria NBC and ABC affiliate WEEK.
“I think that Mr. Pace is an incredibly violent person,” Kouri reportedly told the court. “In all my years as a judge, I have thought it but never said it. I think that you are an incredibly evil person. I think we need a break from you.”
At one point, Pace, who has reportedly abused numerous women dating back to the early 2000s, interrupted the judge and tried to plead his case.
“Most times, I was getting the bad end of the stick,” he said, per WEEK. “These relationships, they were not good on both sides.”
Prosecutors also told the court that in addition to hospitalizing the victim at least once every month of their relationship, he also kept her locked in the apartment for four days after setting her on fire and refused to allow her to get medical attention.
Pace maintained that the victim’s injuries were the result of an “accident” that happened while they were using drugs.
