Ashton teen pleads guilty to murdering girlfriend, sentenced to 40 years in prison

DIXON — An Ashton teen pleaded guilty Monday to first-degree murder, admitting he used a belt to strangle his girlfriend to death four months ago in the apartment they shared.

David J. Sosa, who turned 18 on Dec. 18 and was charged as an adult, was immediately sentenced to 40 years in prison for the Oct. 15, 2024, death of his girlfriend, Jaedyn Hill. Under the negotiated plea agreement, three other counts of murder/intent to kill were dismissed.

ExpandAutoplay

Image 1 of 6

David Sosa enters a Lee County courtroom Monday, Feb. 24, 2025, to plead guilty to murdering his girlfriend, Jaedyn Hill. (Alex T. Paschal)

Hill, 16, was found dead Oct. 15 in the Ashton apartment that she shared with Sosa, who was 17 at the time of the slaying, and like Hill, was a former Oregon High School student. The couple also share a child together.

According to Lee County State’s Attorney Charley Boonstra, a teenager later identified as Sosa showed up in the Rochelle Police Department’s lobby about 6:45 a.m. Oct. 15. He had walked 11 miles from Ashton to Rochelle to turn himself in at the police department, telling officers that he was involved in a murder and the victim was in his apartment.

As a result, Lee County deputies went to 702 Richardson Ave., Apartment A, in Ashton, for a welfare check, arriving shortly after 7 a.m. There, they found Hill’s body in the southeast bedroom of the two-bedroom apartment. A belt was around Hill’s neck and a knife was on the floor next to her. She was bleeding from her hairline and her ear.

An Oct. 16 autopsy at the Peoria County Coroner’s Office confirmed strangulation as the cause of Hill’s death. A Lee County grand jury indicted Sosa on Oct. 18.

[ Lee County sheriff: Ashton teen charged with 4 counts of murder in death of girlfriend ]

Prior to Sosa making his plea Monday, his attorney, public defender Robert Thompson, told Lee County Circuit Court Judge Jacquelyn Ackert he had advised Sosa that the case should be developed further before making a guilty plea. He also wanted Sosa to undergo an evaluation to determine if any mitigating factors would benefit him, knowing that if Sosa pleaded guilty he could face anywhere from 20 years to 60 years in state prison.

But Sosa did not want to undergo an evaluation and wanted to plead guilty. Sosa also told his attorney that he wanted to serve his sentence in an adult prison, not a juvenile detention center, Thompson said.

“He wants to proceed today,” Thompson said, adding at one point that Sosa has no intention of appealing.

“He understands the nature of his punishment,” Thompson said. And while Sosa’s life will be the same day after day for many years, “he has plans for his future,” Thompson said.

Sosa also had been in communication with Hill’s family prior to sentencing, Thompson said.

Jordyn Garcia of Oregon, Hill’s mother, read two victim impact statements prior to sentencing, one from Hill’s 13-year-old sister and another she had written herself.

[ Candlelight vigil held for 16-year-old Ashton girl police say was killed by boyfriend ]

While on the witness stand, Garcia explained how the family celebrated Hill’s 16th birthday with her on Oct. 6, not knowing that she would be murdered just nine days later.

“Jaedyn was my sunshine,” she said through tears. “Our family has been broken and lost.”

She also told Sosa that he had been like a son to her.

“I forgive you, David,” she said.

As part of the sentencing, Sosa will be granted credit for 132 days served. Because he was a juvenile at the time of the murder, he was not ordered to pay fines or fees. He also will serve three years of mandatory supervised release.

He will not be considered for parole until he has served at least 20 years in prison, Ackert said.