Glazier Found Guilty of Murder; Negotiated 60-Year Prison Sentence Will Be Imposed Sept. 13
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[James E. Glazier was found guilty of one count of first degree murder in a stipulated bench trial almost two years to the day after he was arrested for killing 15-year-old Pinckneyville teen Sidnee Stephens.
Following a pre-sentencing investigation, Glazier will be sentenced to 60 years in prison without possibility of parole or early release. The hearing is set for 11 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 13.
The third defendant in the Stephens murder, Robbie Mueller, is also set for a court appearance that day.
Perry County Circuit Judge James Campanella allowed State's Attorney David Stanton to amend the charges against Glazier to just one count of first degree murder.
Glazier was then asked several times if he still wished to waive his right to a preliminary hearing and a jury trial. Glazier agreed.
Judge Campanella had previously denied Glazier's motion to suppress the interviews he gave immediately before and after being arrested for Stephens' murder.
Stanton read a statement of facts which began with fishermen finding Stephens' body in the Beaucoup Creek on July 25, 2010 and ended with his confession to police that Glazier, along with Carl Dane, broke into Stephens' home, bound her with tape, choked her to death, placed her body in the trunk of Dane's car then threw her off the bridge on Cudgetown Road into the Beaucoup Creek. Two nights later, Glazier and Dane returned to weigh down Stephens' body in an attempt to cover up the crime.
A recommended sentence of 60 years was agreed upon by both sides in pre-trail negotiations. Judge Campanella said he would honor the agreement at sentencing.
The third defendant in the murder case is Robbie Mueller, who was 15 at the time of killing. His next court appearance is Sept. 13.