Ill. Man Killed Estranged Wife in Front of Children Because He Was Angry She Planned to Get Order of Protection

Prosecutors said the victim filed for divorce six weeks before she was murdered by her husband Timothy Gordon on Oct. 31, 2022

An Illinois man who fatally shot his estranged wife in front of two young children because he was angry she planned to file an order of protection against him has been sentenced to prison, authorities said.

Timothy Gordon, 48, was sentenced to 50 years in prison after being convicted of first-degree murder in the 2022 shooting death of his wife Yahaira, Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie L. Mosser announced in a press release on July 19.

However, Gordon’s sentence was upgraded to life in prison without the possibility of parole after Judge Clint Hull imposed the maximum sentence for a firearm enhancement, believing that Gordon had “executed” his wife, the release states.

On Oct. 31, 2022, Gordon became “upset” after learning Yahaira was considering filing an order of protection against him, prosecutors said. Yahaira had filed for divorce six weeks earlier and was allowing Gordon to live in the basement of their Montgomery, Ill., home while she lived on the second-floor with her mother, aunt and four children.

Prosecutors said Gordon pushed his way into an upstairs bedroom occupied by Yahaira, her mother, her aunt and two children, aged 2 and 7. He walked up to Yahaira, placed a gun near her left temple, and fired once, according to prosecutors. They said the shot killed Yahaira instantly.

According to prosecutors, Yahaira recorded a video on her cellphone at the time of the shooting since she feared “confrontation” with Gordon. It’s unclear how much of the incident was captured on video.

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Prosecutors said Gordon had a criminal history and was on parole for unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon at the time of Yahaira’s killing. He was convicted of the offense in Mississippi in 2017, they said.

Authorities added that Gordon’s criminal history dates back to as early as 1994, including convictions for armed violence and robbery, aggravated battery with a firearm and aggravated DUI.

“The defendant received the life sentence he deserved for doing to Yahaira what she didn’t deserve,” a prosecutor said in the release. “She did not deserve to die in this utterly contemptible way. She did not deserve to have all of the memories robbed from her that she would have made with her children as they grew – high school, proms, weddings, grandchildren.”

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