Granite City woman is going to prison after DNA test ties her to cold-case murder
A Granite City woman has been sentenced to 46 years in prison for her role in the slaying of a man during a 2015 residential burglary, according to an announcement by Macoupin County State’s Attorney Jordan J. Garrison.
Chancey Hutson, 31, had been convicted of first-degree murder in August. Cody Adams, 24, of Woodburn, was killed during the burglary as he tried to protect family members, authorities said.
“I keep seeing this contrast, a peaceful home on New Year’s Eve, a mom and dad asleep, the kids at a church lock in down the street, and Cody playing video games. It looked like many homes in Macoupin County,” said Judge Joshua A Meyer, who sentenced Hutson on Monday. “Then I see the home after what happened.... None of this had to happen, but it did, because of you.”
Garrison said: “For the next 46 years, Hutson will face the consequences of her heinous crime waking up in a jail cell every morning. It does not change the fact that a mother lost her son, and a son lost his father. I pray today brings some peace to Cody’s family. “
According to court records, Hutson entered Adams’ home wearing a mask and carrying a gun in the early morning hours of Jan. 1, 2015. She encountered Adams and his mother, who attempted to fight her off. The .38-caliber handgun discharged, striking Adams in the upper arm and chest.
Hutson’s mask came off in the melee and she was able to flee. Adams later died of his wounds.
The case was cold for more than two years until a police database matched DNA found on the mask with Hutson, Garrison said.
Woodburn is an unincorporated village on Illinois 14 roughly three miles west of Bunker Hill.
Hutson will be 32 years old on Oct. 4. She is not eligible for parole until November 2065.
A second person, William Kavanaugh, 37, of East Alton, also was charged in Adams’ death and is reportedly awaiting trial. The Associated Press reported in 2022 that Kavanaugh had escaped the Macoupin County Jail by crawling out through ceiling tiles. He was later recaptured at the trailer home of a female acquaintance.
