Inset: Katherine Smith (Sangamon County Jail). Background: The house where a teenager was killed during a home invasion in 2018 (Google Maps).
An Illinois woman accepted legal culpability this week for her role in a home invasion and robbery that left a teenager dead – but she seems likely to avoid spending a substantial amount of time in prison.
On Monday, Katherine E. Smith, 26, pleaded guilty to one count of home invasion – after she had long been charged with murder in the first degree over the February 2018 death of Dohndre Hughes, 19.
A plea deal, however, dashed that initial charge and Smith was sentenced by Sangamon County Circuit Court Associate Judge Rudolph Braud to 13 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections on a lone count of home invasion.
But several caveats are at play.
Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.
Since her arrest, Smith has spent some 2,714 days in pretrial detention, according to Springfield-based ABC affiliate WICS. This is roughly equivalent to just shy of 7 1/2 years behind bars.
Under sentencing rules in the Land of Lincoln, however, an inmate in Smith”s position would have been eligible for release on good behavior after just 6 1/2 years, according to The Illinois Times.
Now, after being remanded into the custody of the local sheriff, Smith is expected to be processed by the prison system and then released.
The woman’s role the Feb. 23, 2018, stabbing death of Hughes was relatively minimal compared to at least one of the other defendants in the case, her defense attorney convinced the judge.
In June 2024, Dayne Woods, 26, was found guilty by a Sangamon County jury of first-degree murder, home invasion, armed robbery and theft. He was subsequently sentenced to 37 years in prison.
Prosecutors proved Woods was the one who wielded the knife that took Hughes’ life at his home on East Jackson Street in Springfield. The victim confronted Woods and was stabbed in the chest.
A third defendant, Mark D. Meszaros, 28, also went with Woods inside the house that day – where the occupants were first attacked with pepper spray in an attempt to subdue them, authorities say.
The pair shouted “police” as they entered in a further attempt to confuse those in the residence, according to courtroom report by the newspaper. One of the men even wore a “police shirt” to sell the subterfuge. In the end, $600 in cash was stolen.
Hughes was remembered fondly in his obituary:
He had a smile that could brighten anyone’s day and a laugh that was truly infectious. He never met a stranger that did not later on become his friend; he was the true definition of a people person. Dre loved spending time with his family playing cards, cooking meals and burning skillets. If he was not in a kitchen he was on a basketball court playing the game he loved most.
In January, Meszaros pleaded guilty to one count each of armed robbery and home invasion. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Smith, for her part, was not at the scene of the crime.
The woman did, however, provide Hughes’ address to the men who were on the hunt for cash and drugs. From the beginning, prosecutors never argued she knew there would be a confrontation, nor that Woods was armed, much less that it would all result in murder. Still, under the felony murder theory, the state pushed for hefty consequences.
Smith’s attorney argued the provision of that address was “induced” by domestic violence she suffered at Woods’ hands. The defense also brought attention to Smith’s educational journey. Prior to her arrest, she was a poor student at Lincoln Land Community College. After release on bond in 2024, Smith became a straight-A student.
During an allocution at her sentencing hearing, Smith admitted she was a “weak individual” when the crime was committed. She also said there were “so many things I should have done differently.”
The defendant also addressed the victim’s family.
“There will forever be a hole in my heart. I know it will never compare to what you have gone through,” she said.
The judge acknowledged both her lesser role and the substantial post-arrest changes she made in her life, the newspaper reported.
After being freed, Smith will remain on mandatory supervised release for 18 months, in addition to paying a civil judgment.
