Crest Hill Man Found Guilty of Running Over Wife, Stomping in Her Face

A Vietnam vet whose lawyers claimed a flashback forced him to stomp in his wife’s face after he ran her over in their Crest Hill garage was found guilty of murder.

Jerry Nichols, 64, had explained he accidentally twice hit his wife with her own Honda. He then — according to his attorneys — was reminded of the time a fellow soldier died in his arms and stomped on her head as a paramedic watched.

The jury didn’t buy it — at least not for any longer than the two hours it took them to deliberate — and voted to convict Nichols. He faces up to 60 years for the death of his 55-year-old wife, Diane.

“This was premeditated, cold-blooded murder conducted by a heartless coward who thought this was the easiest way to end an 11-year marriage to the innocent woman who loved him,” Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow said of the January 2013 killing.

“The conviction secured by my prosecutors guarantees that this selfish killer will die behind the walls of a state prison,” Glasgow said.

During the trial, Assistant State’s Attorneys John Connor and Marie Griffin revealed that Nichols had been conducting Internet research on poisons that are difficult to detect during autopsies. He searched for castor bean-based ricin recipes, potassium cyanide and pure nicotine extractions.

Nichols also bought castor beans online and had them delivered to his job.