The woman’s testimony helped jurors convict Timothy Dubois on 10 felony counts.
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. — Nearly four years after a woman was abducted while waiting for coffee in Collinsville, a Madison County judge sentenced Timothy J. Dubois Jr. to 120 years in prison for kidnapping and sexually assaulting her at knifepoint.
The Thursday hearing marked the end of the criminal trial but not every legal issue connected to the case. Dubois, 42, can appeal, and the woman has filed a separate civil lawsuit. For prosecutors and Collinsville police, however, the sentence followed years of work that depended on the woman’s account, digital location records, DNA evidence and an investigation that eventually crossed into genetic genealogy.
The woman was 21 when she drove to the Collinsville Crossing shopping center on Nov. 11, 2022. She parked outside a Starbucks and waited for a mobile order. Prosecutors said Dubois approached her vehicle, entered while carrying a large knife and ordered her to drive. She followed his directions to a more isolated area in Troy, where he sexually assaulted her. Her testimony later gave jurors a direct account of the abduction and the threats used to control her. She said Dubois told her that he “deserved” to assault her because the date was Veterans Day. The statement became one of the most disturbing details presented during the trial.
After the assault, authorities said, Dubois drove the vehicle back toward the Collinsville shopping district. He stopped near a Wendy’s and ran away, leaving the woman and her vehicle behind. Police began searching for a man whose name they did not yet know. Investigators collected video from the surrounding commercial area, released surveillance images of a vehicle and distributed a sketch of the suspect. The public releases were intended to generate leads, but the evidence that ultimately identified Dubois came from a location the victim helped police find through a device she had been wearing.
Records from the woman’s Apple Watch allowed investigators to retrace the route and focus on the Troy area where the assault had taken place. Police found a discarded condom and recovered an unknown male DNA profile. Investigators then turned to commercial genetic genealogy, a method that searches for possible family connections between crime-scene DNA and profiles voluntarily uploaded by people exploring their ancestry. The process did not simply produce Dubois’ name. Detectives used family links to narrow the possibilities and then conducted additional work to connect the evidence to him.
Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Haine called the genetic genealogy work an “incredibly innovative” investigative technique. The method became one part of a broader case that also included the victim’s testimony, surveillance material, the DNA results and Dubois’ own statements. Law enforcement witnesses told jurors that Dubois confessed during questioning and later wrote an apology letter to the woman. Prosecutors used those materials to argue that the physical evidence and the survivor’s account pointed to the same person.
Dubois’ attorneys tried to keep the confession video and apology letter from the jury. Public Defender Mary Copeland argued before trial that police obtained the evidence through illegal interrogations. The court allowed prosecutors to use it. After hearing the evidence, a Madison County jury deliberated for about 90 minutes on May 7 and found Dubois guilty on all 10 counts. The convictions included aggravated criminal sexual assault, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated criminal sexual abuse. The precise sentencing exposure came from the number and seriousness of those offenses and the rules governing whether individual prison terms run together or at the same time.
Copeland filed a motion for a new trial June 1, again challenging the confession and apology letter. At Thursday’s hearing, Circuit Judge Tim Berkley denied the motion. He said the court had already held an extensive hearing on the defense request to suppress the evidence. The judge then announced the 120-year sentence. Five years will run concurrently with other terms. Under Illinois law, the structure of the sentence places the maximum time Dubois could serve at about 80 years and the minimum at about 65 years. He will receive credit for approximately three years already spent in custody.
The defense asked Berkley to weigh Dubois’ background against the seriousness of the crimes. Copeland said he had served in the military and struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder after combat. She portrayed him as a father and son whose personality changed after he returned. “He sacrificed his mental health to fight for our freedom,” Copeland said. The court also had to consider the violence involved in forcing a stranger from a public parking lot with a knife, moving her to another city and assaulting her in an isolated location.
The woman’s name has not been made public. News organizations and authorities generally withhold the names of sexual assault victims unless they choose to identify themselves. Her role in the prosecution extended beyond reporting the attack. Her description of the route, her testimony and the location history stored on her watch helped investigators build the timeline that led to the recovery of DNA. The evidence allowed police to move from an unknown suspect shown in surveillance images to a man whose identity could be presented and tested in court.
After the hearing, Collinsville Police Chief Brett Boerm credited the agencies and prosecutors involved. “It’s a win for law enforcement. It’s a win for Madison County public safety,” Boerm said. The sentencing also brought a public resolution to a case that had caused concern because the abduction began in daylight at a busy retail development. Authorities have not reported evidence that another person took part in the crime.
A civil case remains pending. The woman is seeking damages from Dubois, Starbucks and the owner of the Collinsville store, alleging negligence. Civil courts determine financial liability separately from criminal guilt, and the businesses were not defendants in the criminal trial. The claims will proceed on their own schedule unless the parties reach an agreement or a court dismisses them. No final ruling in that case had been announced Friday.
Dubois may now ask an Illinois appellate court to review the convictions, the disputed interrogation evidence and the sentence. Unless a higher court changes the judgment, he faces at least 65 years in prison after receiving credit for time already served. No date for an appeal or further hearing had been set.
Author note: Last updated July 10, 2026.