A 25-year old LaSalle man is heading to prison after he pleaded guilty this morning to smothering his child. Eight week old Theo Herbst died at the end of March 2019. Kenneth Herbst was charged with murder and would have taken his case to trial next week. He pleaded guilty to aggravated battery to a child. Judge H. Chris Ryan agreed to sentence Herbst to a 20-year term as worked out between the lawyers. Herbst will be eligible for parole in about 15 years, around the time his son would have been a high school senior.
Information from Tom Collins