ST. CHARLES COUNTY • A man found guilty of killing an elderly widow nearly 30 years ago in St. Charles was sentenced Monday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Cecil McBenge, now 49, was of first-degree murder in the death of Eleonora Knoernschild, 84, who was in ill health and relied on an oxygen tank.
McBenge’s brother, Brian McBenge, 52, was found guilty of Knoernschild’s murder in August; He also was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Knoernschild lived alone in a home in the 1700 block of Sibley Street. Her daughter discovered her on the floor of her bedroom on Nov. 4, 1984, with items ransacked from her drawers piled on top of her.
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She was beaten in the face, head and torso. Several ribs were fractured. She also was strangled with her bedspread.
Authorities said the motive for the crime was theft, specifically money Knoernschild kept in a baking soda can in her home.
The murder case had remained cold until 2011, when authorities said they linked DNA found at the crime scene to the brothers. Prosecutors said DNA on a stocking belonging to the victim matched that of Cecil McBenge, and DNA on a cheese wrapper in the victim’s kitchen matched Brian McBenge.
The sentence was handed down by Circuit Judge Dan Pelikan.