17 years for murder of Indian housewife

Seneca Berry who pleaded guilty to armed robbery. The other two suspects still in custody are Dewaun Tate and Jerry Lockhart

CHICAGO: One of the three alleged killers of Indian housewife Vatsala Thakkar, 56, of Hanover Park, Illinois, has pleaded guilty to armed robbery and also agreed to testify against his two accomplices. Seneca Berry the youngest of three now turning 16 was sentenced to 17 years in prison by the DuPage County Circuit Court Judge John Kinsella last week.

Berry was one of three persons that prosecutors allege took part in an attempted robbery of a dollar discount store in Hanover Park last year. The DuPage County State's Attorney Joe Birkett said the trio fled with $135 after robbing and stabbing Vatsala Thakkar, a married mother of two who held a medical degree from her native India.

Berry could have been sentenced to 60 years in prison had he been convicted of the murder and 30 years for his conviction in armed robbery.

He was 15 at the time of the incident but was charged as adult. The relative lesser sentence is in the light of his guilty plea and agreeing to testify against other two suspects Jerry Lockhart, 40, and Dewaun Tate, 18, both of also from Hanover Park. They are still held in a $2 million dollar bond.

Jerry Lockhart and Dewaun Tate are  charged with first-degree murder and armed robbery. Lockhart faces additional charge of  obstruction of justice. Vatsala Thakkar was transported to St. Alexius Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The Hanover Park Police Department and the DuPage Major Crimes Task Force conducted a homicide investigation regarding the stabbing death of Vatsala Thakkar, from India and formerly a resident of Wheaton, Illinois.

Jerry Lockhart, Dewaun Tate, and Seneca Berry, all of Hanover Park, were charged with Armed Robbery and First Degree Murder. Tate and Berry listed residence in the 1300 block of Court O, Hanover Park. Lockhart listed residence in the 1200 block of San Simeon, Hanover Park.

Suresh Shah