The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
by Dessa Rodeffer, Quill Publisher/Owner
Amy Hoffman of Gladstone is to be sentenced May 8th in relationship to the murder of Rex Mynatt, Sr. of Carman
OQUAWKA -The family of the late Rex Mynatt, Sr., 87, met with Henderson County States Attorney Colby Hathaway to discuss Amy Hoffman, the last of three people accused in the first degree murder of Mr. Mynatt on October 6, 2017.
It was another horrible day for the family who just wants justice to be served, and this nightmare to be over.
On Friday, Oct. 6, 2017, Rex Mynatt Sr., 87, at his rural Carman camper where he lived alone, was brutally killed. He was found Sunday morning by his daughter, Linda Markey, when he didn't arrive at his church in Carman.
According to Mynatt's daughter Linda Markey, a sentence hearing for Hoffman, who is being held in the county jail, has been set for Wednesday, May 8th at 2:15 p.m. in the Henderson County Courthouse upstairs courtroom, Oquawka.
Markey said a plea bargain has been accepted, and there will be no trial.
"We discussed it extensively with Colby and there is always that chance of one juror saying "not guilty" and she walks. I couldn't bare that!"
Hoffman, 40 this year, is one of three who were indicted in Henderson County Circuit Court by a Grand Jury on Dec. 1, 2017, for first-degree murder of Mynatt.
According to the indictment, after hearing evidence prosecutors presented in a closed session, it was Blakley who shot Mynatt in the chest with a .22 caliber rifle.
Logsdon and Hoffman, both women, were charged with assisting Blakley in Mynatt's death.
But after a plea bargain, a trial was waived for both Donnie Blakely Jr., 43, and Angel Logsdon, 41, in separate sentence hearings on the same day (Friday, January 18, 2019), Blakely and Logsdon pled guilty to lesser chargers in Henderson County Court in Oquawka before the honorable Judge Raymond Cavanaugh.
Testimony revealed that:
"Mynatt was needlessly murdered on the evening of Thursday, October 5, 2017 as Blakely, Jr. accompanied by Angel Logsdon, 40, of Gladstone, waited in the dark near the property of Mynatt's trailer home for the unarmed, 87-year-old man, to return to his home.
"Blakely murdered Mynatt, and to conceal the death, the two traveled to Putney's Landing where clothing and shoes were burnt and the murder weapon was discarded into the Mississippi River.
"The clothing and shoes were later recovered near the river, and the murder weapon was recovered out of the river."
Donny J. Blakely Jr., 42, Gladstone, was sentenced to 32 years in prison for First Degree Murder after he pled guilty to murdering Rex Mynatt, Sr., of Carman on October 16, 2017, and waived all of his rights to appeal his sentence and is to serve 100% of his 32 year stretch for taking the life of the beloved community member and Korean war veteran, father and grandfather.
In asking States Attorney Hathaway to comment on the upcoming plea bargain and the Blakely sentencing, he said, "I'm unable to comment on the case against Amy Hoffman as this matter is still pending.
"In regards to Donny Blakely, the loss of Rex Mynatt was tragedy for our community that cannot be rectified. However, I'm glad to see that Donny Blakely took responsibility for his actions and is going to serve the vast majority, if not all of his remaining years, in the Illinois Department of Corrections."
Angel Logsdon, 41, Gladstone, pled guilty to felony charges of "Concealment of a Homicidal Death" in a negotiated plea and was sentenced to 2-years probation, $1,496 fines, fees and costs at a monthly payment of $30 a month, a probation fee of $25 a month, and to serve 914 days in the Henderson County jail with credit for 457 days already served.
She's required under her probation rules to actively seek a job and keep records, and a list of other probation requirements including not leaving the state without permission, no fire arms, ammunition, dangerous weapons, illegal drugs, alcohol, or violation of criminal or traffic laws, and to enter no dram shops.
Logsdon is to personally appear before a probation office and cooperate fully, and most importantly, testify truthfully in the prosecution of Donny J. Blakley, Jr. and Amy R. Hoffman in the murder of Rex A. Mynatt, Sr..