Man gets 4 life terms plus 280 years for Rockford murders

ROCKFORD, Ill. (AP) - A northern Illinois man was sentenced Friday to four life terms plus 280 years in prison in the 2014 killings of his ex-girlfriend, her two young sons and her boyfriend.

Associate Judge Fernando Engelsma appeared emotional as he sentenced Calvin L. Carter III, 24, who did not appear in Winnebago County court, The Rockford Register Star reported . The judge called the killings "cold and calculated."

"These children were executed," Engelsma said. "It wasn't simply a murder."

Carter's defense attorney immediately filed an appeal. Carter was convicted in July on 133 counts. He waived his right to attend sentencing and didn't provide a written statement to be read in court. Prosecutors asked for two life sentences. Carter's attorney didn't specify an amount.

Investigators said Carter fatally shot 24-year-old Martia Flint, along with her sons - 6-year-old Tyrone Smith III and 4-year-old Tobias K. Smith - in a Rockford apartment. Also killed was 24-year-old Demontae Rhodes.

Flint's mother, Rolanda Collins, testified at the sentencing hearing that she wanted Carter locked up forever.

"May the same demons you worshipped terrorize your soul in hell," Collins said.

Prosecutors said Carter killed the four after Flint broke up with him to rekindle a relationship with Rhodes. Carter's defense argued the case was built on circumstantial evidence.

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