Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the new trial for a Macomb man accused of murdering his cellmate, Darrell Hocker, in the McDonough County Jail Nov. 8, 2023, is set to begin Aug. 25.
After the jury, composed of eight men and two women, deadlocked in the nearly week-long murder trial in June for defendant Timothy Smith, which resulted in a mistrial, attorneys have been preparing for a new trial. Judge Nigel Graham declared a mistrial June 12 when the jury failed to reach unanimous decision after nearly six hours of deliberation Wednesday and Thursday. Smith remains lodged in the McDonough County Jail.
Smith, who chose not to attend the initial trial, was tried in absentia. He has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder for Hocker's death, with each count carrying a minimum of 20 years and maximum of 60 years with 100 percent time to be served and a mandatory three years supervision. Smith was originally found unfit to stand trial by Dr. Joel Eckert; however, he underwent additional fitness hearings last year per court orders, with Dr. Sudarshan Suneja testifying that he was fit to stand trial.
There are four verdicts that could again be considered: not guilty; guilty; not guilty by reason of insanity, which means the defendant meets the legal definition of insanity at the time of the offense and is committed to a Department of Human Services facility where he could serve out his sentence and/or be released if DHS officials consider he is mentally fit and no longer a threat to society, and guilty but mentally ill, which means Smith would be sentenced to the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Smith, who was 40 at the time, and Hocker were both being held on domestic battery charges at the time of their respective arrests. Smith also was being held on additional charges of aggravated battery and other charges, according to police reports from Oct. 3, 2023. On or around Oct. 21, Smith was removed from the isolation cell and placed in a cell with Hocker. Nearly one month later, around 1 a.m., Nov. 8, 2023, two McDonough County jailers had finished their 20-minute rounds and had left the area where Smith and Hocker were being held together in a cell (a pod with a common area and three individual cells). After hearing noise and yelling, the jailers returned to the pod where they found Smith standing over Hocker, who was unresponsive. Hocker was transferred to McDonough District Hospital where he was pronounced deceased. Autopsy reports state that Hocker died from blunt force trauma and injuries sustained to the head and neck.
In addition to the new criminal trial, a civil suit has been filed by Hannah Mellentine, the adult daughter of Hocker. Mellentine filed a wrongful death lawsuit in October 2024 in U.S. Federal Court-Central Illinois District. The 10-count suit seeks damages in excess of $3.5 million in for 'loss of life, conscious pain and suffering,' additional compensatory damages and punitive damages, and demands a 12-person jury trial.
