‘It’s a big loss.’ Joliet mother of slain son reflects on Hickory Street murders 10 years later

A decade later, Jamille Kent is still grieving the loss of her son who, along with his friend, were killed in a horrific murder in Joliet.

Kent, who still resides in Joliet, remembers her son, Terrance Rankins, as thoughtful, giving, friendly and outgoing. She said her son was someone who did not “see the evil in the world.”

“His one problem was he thought everyone was his friend,” Kent said.

Rankins and his friend, Eric Glover Jr., both 22, were killed by Joshua Miner and Adam Landerman after they were lured into a residence on Jan. 9, 2013, in the 1100 block of North Hickory Street. Rankins and Glover had gone to the residence with the expectation that they would party with two young women, Alisa Massaro and Bethany McKee.

According to Will County prosecutors, Miner, Landerman, Massaro and McKee had plotted to attack and rob Rankins and Glover.

Miner, 34, Landerman, 29, and McKee, 28, are serving life sentences in prison for their role in the slayings. Massaro, 28, evaded their fate by agreeing to a plea deal with prosecutors in exchange for her testimony against the other three. Massaro had pleaded guilty to robbery and concealment of a homicide. She was released from prison in 2018.

In recent years, Miner, Landerman and McKee have filed petitions for post-conviction relief that have been denied. Last year, Landerman and McKee petitioned for executive clemency.

In a statement, Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow said, the “intensely personal nature of these senseless and callous murders is unlike anything I’ve ever seen during my 40-year career.”

“The chokeholds used to execute these two innocent young men had to be maintained for [four to five] minutes even though they were probably rendered unconscious in about 10 seconds. There is no punishment that fits this crime and our hearts continue to go out to the victims families,” Glasgow said.

After all this time, Kent said it still makes no sense to her why her son and his friend were killed.

She said Rankins was just beginning his life and it was “just snatched away.”

“It’s a big loss, it’s a big loss. That was my youngest child. I have two sons and the youngest one was taken away at the age of 22,” Kent said.

During this time, Kent said she’s been in a support group to help her cope with the loss of her son.

“You’re with people that have gone under the same things that you gone through. We know how each other feels,” Kent said.

She’s also been keeping herself busy with six grandsons, who are involved in football and basketball.

“I’ve become, I guess, a sports grandmother,” Kent said.

Kent attends church at True Vine Missionary Baptist Church in Dixmoor, which her son also attended, and works for H&R Block during tax season.

But dealing with the loss of Rankins has not been getting any easier for Kent.

“I think I am still in the same place 10 years ago,” she said.

Attempts to reach Nicole Jones, the mother of Glover, and his family were unsuccessful as of Friday.

During Miner’s sentencing in 2014, Jones said there is no bond like that between a mother and a child, according to court transcripts in Miner’s case.

“Eric is my firstborn son, we had always had a special connection,” Jones said in 2014. “He was the classic older brother, protective brother. He loved his family, he would try and guide his brothers and sisters in the right direction.”

Kent said her son and Glover didn’t have a chance to fight back when attacked by Miner and Landerman.

“They didn’t have time to protect themselves,” she said.

She also said Massaro and McKee could’ve gotten help but they knew what was going on and invited her son and Glover over to the Hickory Street residence.

“They brought them into that,” she said.

Kent is still revisiting what happened to her son every day.

“It doesn’t go away. People say it gets better with time,” Kent said. “Ten years later, I can’t say that it does because for one thing, that was my child.”