A 39-year-old suburban Chicago man who confessed to stabbing his mother to death over tickets to an Avril Lavigne concert was sentenced to 40 years in prison Monday.
The body of Robert Lyons' mother, Linda Bolek, 61, was found in the pair's Carol Stream condo on March 14, 2008. Lyons told police killed his mother in a fit of rage after she refused to arrange skybox tickets for him at an upcoming Avril Lavigne concert, and denied that his bipolar disorder played a part in his decision to bludgeon and stab her.
Lyons was found guilty in September 2011, after a six-day trial, the Chicago Tribune reports. The jury deliberated for about two hours before returning a first-degree murder verdict.
Prosecutors pointed to neighbors' reports of frequent spats between Lyons and his mother as evidence that the killing was premeditated. The brutality of Bolek's murder further incriminated Lyons--after beating Bolek in the head with a champagne bottle and stabbing her repeatedly in the back, Lyons poured household chemicals on her body before leaving for a nearby Hooter's restaurant, where he was apprehended by police.
"Linda Bolek did not deserve to die that day by the hands of her own son," DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. "She did not deserve to be beaten, stabbed and have chemicals poured over her as she lay helpless on the floor...Mr. Lyons however, deserves this punishment."