Woman Gets 55 Years In Prison For Fatally Stabbing Elderly Couple

ALGONQUIN, IL — A 42-year-old Algonquin woman with a history of mental illness has been sentenced to 55 years in prison for fatally stabbing an elderly couple in 2020.

Arin Fox appeared for a hearing Wednesday in McHenry County Circuit Court where the lengthy sentence was handed down, according to court records.

Fox killed Noreen S. Gilard, 69, and Leonard J. Gilard, 73, inside their home in the 600 block of Red Coach Lane in Algonquin in November 2020, authorities said. Fox was living at their home at the time of their deaths.

• Couple Killed, Son’s Friend Charged With Murder

Following the fatal stabbings, Fox drove to Colorado in a car owned by the couple and checked herself into a psychiatric facility, prosecutors said. She was later arrested in Colorado and returned to McHenry County to face charges.

Officers with the Algonquin Police Department found the Gilards dead inside their home after conducting a well-being check at the residence on Nov. 7, 2020.

In October, Fox pleaded guilty but mentally ill to the murder charge.

MORE ON PATCH

• Woman Pleads Guilty But Mentally Ill To Killing Boyfriend's Parents
• Algonquin Woman Accused Of Murder Is Mentally Unfit For Trial
• Woman Accused Of Killing Couple To Appear In Court Thursday

According to Shaw Local News Network, Fox lived with the elderly couple as their caretaker during a time when their son, Andrew Gillard, was in jail.

During the hearing Wednesday, Dr. Robert Meyer, a licensed clinical psychologist with the Mathers Clinic, detailed Fox's long history of mental illness, which began when she was an adolescent and included a series of traumatic events in the year prior to the slayings, according to the article.

Meyer added Fox was taking several medications but abruptly stopped taking the meds when she became pregnant. She later terminated the pregnancy, according to Shaw Local News Network.

Meyer said Fox then suffered from postpartum depression, her stepsister died, the pandemic started, her father and brother stopped talking to her and her boyfriend was in jail, leaving her to care for his elderly parents, according to the article. This all lead to Fox deteriorating mentally and experiencing rage and hopelessness — she also started hearing voices telling her to hurt herself and others.

Fox will be required to serve 100 percent of her 55-year sentence, according to court documents provided to Patch.

She will receive credit for the 1,122 days she has spent in the county jail since her arrest three years ago.