A former Chicago police officer has been re-sentenced to 50 years in prison for fatally shooting his wife at their Spring Grove home after an appeals court vacated his original sentence.
Lorin Volberding, 78, of Spring Grove, was found guilty in September 2019 of two counts of first-degree murder by McHenry County Judge Michael Coppedge.
Volberding sought a new trial but that request was denied by Coppedge.
Volberding was sentenced to 50 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) in June 2020. He was ordered to serve 100% of the sentence.
He appealed the sentence to the Illinois Second District Appellate Court, arguing that the trial court violated his right to counsel of choice, erred in failing to conduct a preliminary inquiring regarding the effectiveness of counsel and considered improper sentencing factors.
The appellate court in January 2022 vacated Volberding’s sentence and ordered a preliminary Krankel inquiry and a new sentencing hearing.
The case in McHenry County has been active for the past two and a half years since the appellate court’s decision.
McHenry County Judge Tiffany Davis re-sentenced Volberding on Thursday to the same sentence of 50 years in the IDOC.
Prosecutors said that Volberding called his neighbor around 12:30 p.m. on February 3, 2017, and left a voicemail stating that he shot and killed his wife.
The neighbor called the Spring Grove Grove Police Department and officers were dispatched to the couple’s home in the 10800 block of East Riveria Drive.
A brief standoff ensued between police and Volberding before officers made entry into the home.
Police found 68-year-old Elizabeth Volberding’s body on the kitchen floor.
She was pronounced dead after suffering a single gunshot wound, prosecutors said.
Lorin Volberding told officers, “I shot her right in the f–king head.” He also said that the victim threw knives at him and kept “egging” him on to shoot her so he “finally f–king did.”
The two Volberdings were retired Chicago police officers.