Zachary Capers, 27, has been sentenced to six decades in prison after entering a 'guilty but mentally ill' plea for the 2019 stabbing deaths of an Edwardsville, Illinois couple. The sentencing follows a mental health evaluation that determined Capers fit to stand trial. He will serve the entire 60-year term, with credit for four years already served.

Originally facing three counts of first-degree murder, Capers ultimately pleaded guilty to a single count as part of a plea agreement. The victims, Lois Ladd, 68, and her husband Michael Ladd, 79, were found deceased in their Edwardsville home in March 2019. The couple, a chiropractor and contractor respectively, had been fatally stabbed.

Nearly 40 friends and family members of the victims attended the hearing, including Michael Ladd's sister, who expressed a sense of justice while acknowledging the possibility of Capers withdrawing his plea within the next 30 days.