Man convicted of killing mother for being ‘a nag,’ sentenced to life

A South Side man who told police “he just snapped” when he killed his 62-year-old mother for being “a nag” in 2012 was sentenced to life in prison Monday.

Earnest McGee, 37, told police his mother, Althea McGee, was driving him crazy when he shot her six times in June 2012 as she sat in a recliner in her basement in the 9000 block of South Dobson, the Chicago Sun-Times previously reported.

“I just snapped, that’s all,” he allegedly said, according to prosecutors.

McGee was found guilty of murder on Sept. 30 after a bench trial before Judge Stanley Sacks, court records show. Sacks sentenced him to life in prison at a hearing Monday.

Earnest McGee, of the 1500 block of East 74th Street, was the one who later called police to check on his mother, telling officers he hadn’t heard from her in a while, Assistant State’s Attorney Jamie Santini said during a bond hearing in 2012.

When police got to the home in the Burnside neighborhood, they found Althea McGee still in her chair with two close-range gunshots to her head, Santini said. Police also noticed that a key had been broken off in her door and her 2010 Ford Focus was missing.

Earnest McGee allegedly admitted he took the car and placed the .357 weapon used in the murder inside. The car was found a few blocks from Althea McGee’s home.