(Lake County, IL) On Thursday, July 14, 2022, a Deerfield man was sentenced to 65 years in prison for fatally stabbing his wife. 

On June 1, 2022, Gary Kamen, 59, pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder with the sentencing enhancement that the offense was committed in a “brutal and heinous manner.” 

Today, prosecutors and defense attorneys presented an agreed order to Lake County Circuit Court Judge Daniel Shanes that Kamen be sentenced to 65 years in prison to be served at 100% of that sentence.  

In accepting the agreement, Judge Shanes told Kamen that he found this sentence to be appropriate in light of the cold-blooded nature of the crime.  

“In days like this, in court, there are no winners. Everyone loses. Your children, by your hand, lost their mother, and you lost,” Judge Shanes said.  

In September 2018, Kamen admitted to police that he held his wife hostage for several hours in their home and stabbed her.    

“The sentence in this case accounts for the heinous nature of the crime. The community remained safe from Mr. Kamen while he remained in custody for nearly four years, and we know the family has some relief that this part of their journey is finally over,” said State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart. “We will continue to support them in any way that we can,” he added.  

Kamen has been held in the Lake County Jail since he was arrested in 2018. He will be transferred to the Illinois Department of Corrections to serve his sentence. 

Originally, Kamen’s bond was set at $10 million. But after Assistant State’s Attorneys Lauren Kalcheim Rothenberg and Scott Hoffert argued he was a threat to the family, the court ordered that Kamen be held without being afforded the opportunity to use cash or property for bond.