Sean Woulfe

Sean Woulfe

Orland man sentenced to 2 years for killing pregnant mom, 3 kids 

Spread the love

From staff reports 

Sean Woulfe, who pleaded guilty rather than face a second trial for reckless homicide in the deaths of a pregnant woman and her three young sons in 2017, was sentenced last week to two years in prison for each count.

Woulfe will only have to serve two years as the five sentences were set by Will County Judge Dan Rippy to run concurrently.

Woulfe pleaded guilty in July to reckless homicide for running a stop sign in the morning of July 24, 2017, in rural Will County and slamming into a van being driven by Lindsey Schmidt who was taking her sons to a summer Bible camp near Crete. His car was traveling 82 mph at the time of the collision.

In March, Woulfe’s trial on 16 counts was declared a mistrial after the jury deadlocked 11-1.

Woulfe’s attorney, George Lenard, had sought probation for his client. At last Wednesday’s sentencing, Lenard reminded Rippy that his client had no alcohol or drugs in his system. Woulfe was also not texting. Now 30 years old, Woulfe was driving to work at AT&T at the time of the crash.

Although Woulfe did not testify in his own defense during his trial last March, he did address the courtroom last Wednesday. He turned his head toward the family members of the Schmidt family and told them how he thinks about the crash every day, and that he wishes he could change places with all five of the family members whose lives were lost as a result of his actions.

“I just hope they understand how terrible I feel and how sorry I am,” Woulfe told everyone. “I am not sure how to make it up to the family and to society.”

Assistant Will County State’s Attorney Adam Capelli asked Rippy to impose a prison sentence for Woulfe.

“The state does believe a sentence to the Department of Corrections (is warranted) to deter others (not) to commit the same crime. The behavior of the defendant was dangerous. These are the reasons why we have driver’s education course … we do believe it’s necessary to deter others.”

Lenard said Woulfe insisted in pleading guilty to spare the Schmidt family of having to endure another courtroom trial.

A church pastor who had known Lindsey Schmidt for much of his life, read a victim impact statement from Tammy Riechers, Lindsey’s mother. The letter described each of her children and how the loss of all their lives means that surviving family members will never be able to see them again until they are able to share eternal glory in heaven.

“What you have done to me and my family is unforgivable,” the letter informed Woulfe. “You should receive one year for every life you took from my (family), so five years minimum.”

Prosecutors had said Woulfe faced a prison term ranging between two and 10 years for the reckless homicide convictions.

Woulfe has been held at the Will County Jail since he pleaded guilty on July 21.

9 Comments

  1. denium on January 15, 2023 at 8:14 am

    A couple of years…?. That leaves a sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach. He would have to leave earth in order to be safe after getting such a BS sentence.



  2. Robert B on January 15, 2023 at 10:16 am

    6 months a person. this is a total slap in the face to the loved ones of this family and a simple slap on the wrist to this killer.



  3. James Packard on January 15, 2023 at 11:29 am

    Killed a total of 5 living beings and he gets 2 years. That’s bullshit!!!!



  4. Loretta Dorsey on January 15, 2023 at 1:18 pm

    The fact that this defendant was proven not to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, proves that he was just being reckless with no regard for human life. So it was nothing but his attitude and his decisions that five people are dead. I agree with the relative who stated he should do at least one year in prison for every life he took.



  5. Anthony on January 15, 2023 at 1:22 pm

    I don’t care if he plead guilty, he should have gotten more time because he killed an entire family. One thing that is a FACT, if he was a person of color he would have gotten the book thrown at him for killing a precious white woman and her children, and she was pregnant too.



  6. Mike Daugherty on January 15, 2023 at 7:41 pm

    This sentence is a slap in the face to this family …… These types of rulings do nothing to deture crime ….



  7. Ester Askew on January 16, 2023 at 10:21 am

    Family and friends of the victims need to follow this judge to ensure he’s removed from the bench, and if he was elected to make certain he’s never re-elected. It’s evident he’s incompetent and has no business sitting in judgement. Start now put together a petition to have this fool removed



  8. Kr on January 16, 2023 at 1:56 pm

    These precious people were part of my family. This should have gone back to trial, the prosecutor flinched. Wasn’t confident in his ability to get a conviction because 1 previous juror held out. No deal should have been made and no slap in the face sentence. Lyndsey was one of the sweetest, kindest souls I had ever met and those boys were so special.



  9. Valencia on January 17, 2023 at 10:14 am

    One family lost 3 loved ones and an unborn baby forever.
    One man loses freedom for less than a decade.
    One mistrial. One deadlocked jury.
    This sentencing is incomprehensible.
    One mother responsibly driving her family.
    One man recklessly operating a motor vehicle.
    One flawed justice system.



Local News

big PoliceLights1

Police Blotter

Spread the love

Spread the loveCHICAGO RIDGE DUI Orlando De La Rosa, 32, of Berwyn, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol following a traffic stop at 2:29 a.m. March 8 in the 9200 block of South Harlem Avenue. Police said he failed field sobriety tests and refused to submit a breath sample. He was also…

Oak Lawn Mayor Terry Vorderer rides in the Fourth of July parade in 2022. (File photo)

Oak Lawn seeks participants for Fourth of July parade

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Joe Boyle It may be spring, but it is not too early to talk about a summer parade. The Oak Lawn Village Board approved a resolution Tuesday morning authorizing the submission of a permit request to the Illinois Department of Transportation for the 2024 Fourth of July Parade. The resolution approves the…

Veronica Shaw

Sandburg welcomes new associate principal of instruction

Spread the love

Spread the loveConsolidated High School District 230 Board of Education is welcoming Dr. Veronica Shaw to Carl Sandburg High School as its new Associate Principal of Instruction. She begins July 1 and replaces Anita Huffman who was recently appointed as District 230’s Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services. With ample education leadership experience, Shaw is currently…

Sheri Cannataro, of Cannataro Farms, demonstrates the gear she wears to extract honey from a bee hive for visitors who stopped by to see her products at the Hills Chamber of Commerce Business and Community Expo Saturday at Conrady Junior High School in Hickory Hills. (Photos by Joe Boyle)

Residents warm up to Hills Chamber Business Expo

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Joe Boyle Spring has arrived but winter continues to leave its calling card. However, that did not prevent the Hills Chamber of Commerce from holding its 10th annual Business and Community Expo Saturday at Conrady Junior High School in Hickory Hills. While the temperatures were frigid and windy outside, the spirit inside…

Palos Park Mayor Nicole Milovich-Walters speaks about zoning codes at the March 25 council meeting. (Photo by Jeff Vorva)

Palos Park to tweak outdated village zoning codes

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva The village of Palos Park has no grand plan to change the village landscape. But officials want to modernize some of its zoning codes. “The village has not comprehensively updated its development regulations since 1960,” Mayor Nicole Milovich-Walters said at the March 25 village council meeting. “Due to this, there…

Ridgeland sd122 logo

SD122 psychologist resigns over Islamophobic posts

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Nuha Abdessalam A psychologist for Ridgeland School District 122 has resigned after hundreds of parents demanded she be fired for social media posts that were pro-Israeli and anti-Palestinian. District Supt. Joseph Matise announced at a schoolboard meeting last week that Dr. Laurie Hoke had resigned. “Dr. Hoke will no longer be working…

CRR_NH

Clear-Ridge Reporter and NewsHound March 27, 2024

Spread the love

Spread the love

Mary Stanek

Will the month of March leave like a lion?

Spread the love

Spread the love. By Mary Stanek Your correspondent in Archer Heights and West Elsdon 3808 W. 57th Place •  (773) 517-7796 . The days are getting longer and slightly warmer. But my prediction of a few weeks ago–March is certainly not leaving like a lamb–may prove to be correct. A sure sign of spring in…

Peggy Zabicki

Robin sighting a sign of new beginnings

Spread the love

Spread the love. By Peggy Zabicki Your correspondent in West Lawn 3633 W. 60th Place •  (773) 504-9327 . I saw a robin the other day. This was the first sighting of the season for me. I remember my mom saying that the first robin of spring is a promise of new beginnings. May it be so. Is…

SRP-IMAGE-Logo

Thome sweet Thome: Nazareth baseball defeats Hall of Famer Jim Thome’s alma mater

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Nazareth baseball team took a road trip to the middle of Illinois and improved its record to 7-0 on March 23 by beating Limestone, 6-0. Limestone is the alma mater of former White Sox player and Baseball Hall of Fame member Jim Thome, who is an assistant coach…

Neighbors

BVball Stagg kill 10 alt

Boys Volleyball | Stagg ends Marist Invite with win over Riverside-Brookfield

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Jason Maholy Sports Editor Stagg outlasted Riverside-Brookfield in a marathon first set, winning 36-34, then followed that with a 25-20 clincher on March 23 to finish seventh in the Silver divison at the 20th Marist RedHawks Invitational. The Chargers went 2-3 in the tournament. They opened pool play on March 22 at…

Shepard senior Jake Klein goes up for the kill against two Lincoln-Way East players during a match on March 22. Photo by Jason Maholy

Boys Volleyball | Shepard finishes 4th in Bronze at Marist Invite

Spread the love

Spread the loveShepard served as one of three host sites for the 20th Marist RedHawks Invitational, and kicked off play in Palos Heights by facing Lincoln-Way East on March 22. The Griffins defeated the Astros, 25-10, 25-15. Marian Catholic beat Shepard, 25-23, 25-9, in the Astros’ second match of the day. The Astros fell to…

The Obbie’s Pizza sign will remain a familiar sight on Archer Avenue. Taking time out for a photo are new owner John Caputi; his son, Giovanni; and Obbie’s longtime managers, Jim Triak and Jeff Twaragowski. --Photo by Cosmo Hadac

Obbie’s Pizza to stay ‘unique and delicious’

Spread the love

Spread the love. New owner vows to serve same popular menu .  By Tim Hadac Archer Avenue’s long-time king of pizzerias will continue to rule. Same recipes at Obbie’s Pizza, 6654 W. Archer. Same pizza and ingredients. Same pasta, broasted chicken, shrimp, perch, Italian beef/sausage/meatball sandwiches, sides and pop. Same seasoned, Middleby Marshall pizza oven…

countryside logo

Countryside City Council tackles long list of items

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch Water leaks, a new truck and abandoned vehicles were among a laundry list of items tackled by the Countryside City Council at its latest meeting. They were all from the infrastructure committee chaired by Ald. Mark Benson (3rd). All of the following were approved by a unanimous 6-0 vote on…

Mahdi Ali (from left), Team AlBary, Ghina Albary, Abla Daoud, Minna Sulieman, Iman Ezzhory, Medinah Yusef,  and Argo Teacher Nadia Elkhatib. (Supplied photos)

Argo High School holds Iftar Dinner for community

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Carol McGowan More than 100 people gathered at Argo Community High School last week for a now annual Ramadan Iftar dinner organized by Argo teacher Nadia Elkhatib. Elkhatib was happy with the turnout for those coming Thursday night to break bread with the school’s Muslim students and their families. “I will continue…

regional palos heights logo

Pool improvements advance in Palos Heights

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Nuha Abdessalam Palos Heights aldermen last week approved contracts advancing improvements at the municipal pool. Alderman Jefry Key motioned for approval of a letter of agreement with the American Institute of Architects between Williams Architect and the City of Palos Heights for the pool improvement project. Since first proposing pool improvements in…

Palos Hills young people sang their hearts out for karaoke night at a neighborhood coffee house. (Photo by Nuha Abdessalam)

Teens enjoy Green Hills karaoke party

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Nuha Abdessalam Palos Hills tweens and teens sang their hearts out for karaoke night at a neighborhood coffee house. Green Hills Library invited all tweens and teens for a karaoke night at Strange Brew Cafe on West 103rd Street and 87th Street on Feb. 22. Organized by Green Hill Library Youth Program…

Luis Garcia, of Oak Forest and the owner and chef of Cervantinos Authentic Mexican Restaurant #2, 12778 S. Harlem Ave., Palos Heights. (Photos by Kelly White)

Cervantinos Authentic Mexican Restaurant opens in Palos Heights

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Kelly White When choosing a location for his second business location, Luis Garcia knew he wanted it to be Palos Heights. “I absolutely love it here,” Luis Garcia, of Oak Forest and the owner and chef of Cervantinos Authentic Mexican Restaurant #2, said. “It’s a great area, nice clientele and I’m happy…

The corner of Crandall and Depot in Worth will be the future site of the Garden Center Services apartment complex. (Photo by Joe Boyle)

Worth Polar Plunge raises record amount

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Joe Boyle The FOP Worth Polar Plunge has been deemed a major success and local officials said the amount raised has set a new record. The annual event, sponsored by the Worth Police Department, took place in a large swimming pool that was put up in the parking lot of the Marrs-Meyer…

Kris Sumner, Youth Programming Librarian at Green Hills Public Library, is responsible for organizing the Eid Clothing Bazaar at the library, 10331 Interlochen Dr., Palos Hills. (Supplied photos)

Green Hills Public Library hosts Eid Clothing Drive

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Kelly White The Islamic calendar has two major holidays each year: Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan and celebrates an entire month of fasting, and Eid al-Adha, the festival of the sacrifice that occurs during the culmination of the Hajj pilgrimage season. It takes place two lunar months after Ramadan.…