RACINE COUNTY (WITI) — A 38-year-old man has been sentenced in connection with the death of 21-year-old Bianca Vite.
A jury found Joseph Guerrero guilty of three charges: first degree intentional homicide, arson of a building without the owner’s consent and mutilating a corpse.
On Thursday, March 12th, Guerrero was sentenced to life in prison without parole on the first degree intentional homicide charge, 25 years in prison, and 15 years of extended supervision on the arson of a building charge, and seven-and-a-half years in prison and five years extended supervision on the mutilating a corpse charge.
These sentences are to be served concurrently.
Police and fire officials say they first were brought into this case on Christmas Day 2012 when they responded to a home in Mount Pleasant which was engulfed in flames. They found Vite inside the charred building.
Investigators say as a result of their investigation, the cause of death for Vite was determined to be homicide. The autopsy results revealed Vite died from strangulation and not from the fire. The investigation also identified Guerrero as the suspect in this case.
Vite and Guerrero were married in July 2012 in Lake County, Illinois. There were no reported incidents of domestic violence prior to this incident.
Guerrero was identified as a suspect early on in the investigation and was held in custody since December 26th after being arrested by the Kenosha Police Department for a probation violation warrant.