Vietnam Vet Sentenced to 39 Years For Running Wife Over in Garage

A Vietnam vet was sentenced to 39 years in prison for running over his wife and then stomping on her face in their Crest Hill garage.

Jerry Nichols, 64, killed his wife, Diane, in January 2013. He rammed her twice with her own Honda, striking her with such force that her body cracked wall studs. She suffered two broken legs, broken ribs and a broken spinal column.

“The first rescue worker to arrive on the scene witnessed Jerry Nichols stomp on his wife’s head and called out in shock, ‘What are you doing?’” according to a statement released by Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow’s office. “Nichols committed that act while making a 911 call to falsely report his wife’s death as an accident.”

Nichols’ attorneys claimed a Vietnam War flashback forced him to stomp in his wife’s face. Nichols accidentally hit his wife with the car and then — according to his attorneys — was reminded of the time a fellow soldier died in his arms. So he stomped on her head.

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.

Nichols had actually been planning his wife’s murder for months, according to evidence presented at trial.

“Assistant State’s Attorneys John Connor and Marie Griffin presented computer forensic evidence that showed the (Nichols) had been conducting online research about poisons that are difficult to detect during autopsies,” according to Glasgow’s office. Nichols’ “Internet searches included ricin recipes made from castor beans, potassium cyanide and pure nicotine extractions. In addition, he made an online purchase of castor beans that were delivered to his workplace.”

After Thursday’s sentencing, Glasgow disparaged Nichols, calling him a “heartless coward.”

“This heartless coward chose to end an 11-year marriage to an innocent woman who loved him by murdering her in cold blood,” Glasgow said. “The conviction and sentence secured by my prosecutors guarantee that Jerry Nichols will die behind the walls of a state prison for this act of vicious brutality.”