Illinois Man Pleads Guilty to Shooting Girlfriend, Writing Suicide Note for Her
Share and Follow

A 19-year-old Illinois man pleaded guilty to killing his girlfriend in 2024 and staging the murder to look like a suicide.

As part of the plea deal, Nathaniel N. Archuleta was sentenced to 45 years in prison without the possibility of parole, the Peoria County State’s Attorney’s Office said.

Archuleta pleaded guilty to first degree murder in the death of 20-year-old Mary Halcomb on September 6. Police were called to the home on a report of a woman who shot herself that day and found Halcomb in a pool of blood on the stairwell landing with a gun in her hand.

She was pronounced dead on the scene from a single gunshot to the neck.

But as detectives investigated, thye uncovered evidence that all was not as it seemed, including a blood trail from downstairs bedroom to the landing where the body was found, as if the body had been moved. In that bedroom, they found a post-it note that read: “I, Mary Elyce Halcomb, promise to never break Nathanial Archuleta’s heart, and if I do, Nathaniel Archuleta has every right to euthanize me, vice versa, I love you.”

For his part, Archuleta gave conflicting accounts of what happened. He first said it was a suicide, then said he was trying to clean his gun when it “accidentally” went off.

Later, detectives learned that Archuleta admitted to another inmate that he had killed Halcomb because he caught her texting another man.

Halcomb’s family members spoke at the hearing this week, telling the court of their experiences since Halcomb’s death.

“They spoke of sleepless nights, nightmares, and persistent heartbreak. They described their overwhelming sense of loss, loss of sisterly moments, shared dreams, and life milestones that will never come,” the state’s attorney’s office said. “Mary’s loved ones described struggling with trust, fear, depression, and anxiety. They called Archuleta’s actions selfish and unforgivable, stating that blood will forever be on his hands and that justice must now be served.”

Share and Follow
You May Also Like

U.S. Department of Justice Takes Legal Action Against California to Exclude Transgender Athletes from Participating in Girls’ Sports

FILE – President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump listen to…

Lawsuit claims jail did not respond to inmate’s cries for help before death

Left: Troy Allen Pownell, left, with his father Troy Dean Pownell (right,…

Teen made TikTok videos about mother and stepfather after murdering them: Police

Left: Sarah Patrick in a TikTok video that she allegedly posted on…

Man receives death sentence for killing 15-year-old boy

Inset: Khyler Edman (Life Celebration Center). background: Ryan Cole during his trial…

80-year-old man kills wife following dispute over doctor, say police

Background: Montgomery County Detention Center (Montgomery County Department of Correction and Rehabilitation)…

Rioter who chugged wine on Jan. 6 to decline Trump’s pardon officially

Jason Riddle is shown holding a bottle of wine, left, and in…

Organizer of January 6th rally found in contempt, instructed to pay fines

Then-former President Donald Trump delivers a speech at the Ellipse on Jan.…

Teen kills his girlfriend and attempts to stage it as a suicide

Left: Nathaniel N. Archuleta (Peoria County Jail). Right: Mary Halcomb (Dignity Memorial).…