A former Chicago police officer pleaded guilty on Tuesday to killing her husband, also a Chicago police officer, during a struggle over her firearm in an argument in November 2021.
Judge Arthur Willis sentenced Jacqueline Villasenor to six years and four months in prison, but Villasenor is expected to serve only one week behind bars because she accumulated 1,162 days of credit while the case was pending. Villasenor pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter of a family member in exchange for the sentence.
The shooting occurred as the couple argued in their Jefferson Park home about an affair Villasenor once had, officials said. She pulled out her firearm at one point and threatened to kill herself, but the gun fired as her husband tried to control the weapon, and a bullet struck him in the chest.
Officials said Villasenor performed CPR on her fallen husband, but he did not survive.
She resigned from the police after charges were filed.
Illinois law requires anyone who goes on electronic monitoring while awaiting trial in a case to receive credit toward any prison sentence for every day they’re on house arrest. Combined with the state’s automatic 50% sentence reduction, Villasenor should be released from custody next week.
