A Huntley man has been sentenced to life in prison after he was convicted by a jury of murdering two young children and their father at a home in Boone County in 2021.
Alize Q. Smith, 28, of Huntley, was charged in January 2022 with three counts of first-degree murder and ordered held at the Boone County Jail with no bond.
The Belvidere Police Department said they initiated an investigation into a triple homicide in the 600 block of Union Avenue in Belvidere on December 19, 2021.
31-year-old Andrew Hintt and his two sons, Benjamin and Sebastian Hintt, ages 7 and 5 respectively, were found dead inside the residence, police said.
The Boone County Coroner’s Office ruled the three deaths a homicide.
During the investigation, detectives learned that Smith was with Hintt and the two boys the morning they were found dead.
Belvidere Police Chief Shane Woody called the incident “a horrific act.”
Andrew Hintt’s silver 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, with Illinois license plate CT92923, remained missing after Smith was arrested, Woody said.
“We know we can never remove the pain and grief of the Hintt family, however, we have to ensure we provide justice for them,” Belvidere Mayor Clint Morris said after Smith’s arrest.
The U.S. Marshals Service Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force took Alize Smith into custody on December 21, 2021, in the 11000 block of Timer Drive in Huntley on an Illinois Department of Corrections parole violation warrant.
Records show that Smith was paroled in June 2021 from the Illinois Department of Corrections after serving time in prison for armed robberies in McHenry County.
Police detectives interviewed Alize at the Belvidere Police Department.
The Huntley Police Department, U.S. Marshals Service and Belvidere Police Department later executed a search warrant at the residence where Smith was arrested in Huntley.
Detectives seized several pieces of evidence from the home.
Court records show a jury trial was held in May and the jury convicted Smith on all charges.
Illinois law mandates that anyone convicted of killing two or more people is subject to life in prison.
Smith was officially sentenced to three life sentences in the Illinois Department of Corrections on Monday during a sentencing hearing overseen by Boone County Judge Robert Tobin III.