An Illinois man who confessed to shooting his ex-girlfriend after a bad breakup has learned his fate, with a local judge sentenced him to life in prison and a prosecutor ripping him at the sentencing, according to the state’s attorney’s office.
At Emmet Metzger’s sentencing on Tuesday, Clinton County State’s Attorney J.D. Brandmeyer stated that “all these people and more were harmed … because his feelings were hurt,” according to a press release from his office.
“He cannot compensate her family, her friends, and all of those who loved or were ever brought joy from Ms. Maki’s presence and existence,” he added, directing the court’s attention to the gallery filled with people in support of victim Alexis Maki, 24, and her family.
“Unfortunately, [he] cannot compensate them for what he did,” the prosecutor explained. “For all the pain, sadness, and heartache that he has caused many people because his feelings were hurt.”
Metzger pleaded guilty in April to first-degree murder in the November 2023 slaying of Maki at their New Baden apartment, according to local CBS affiliate KMOV and the Belleville News-Democrat.
The 911 call that Metzger made after shooting Maki includes a phone confession from him after he realized what he had done.
Metzger told a dispatcher, “I f—ed up,” according to KMOV and the News-Democrat. “I did something really bad. I shot my girlfriend. I need to be arrested. Please.”
Metzger reportedly admitted to repeatedly shooting Maki in their living room with a 9 mm Taurus G2C pistol.
The former couple had split up a month before the shooting, but they still shared a lease at an apartment on Hanover Street in New Baden, according to Maki’s mother, who spoke with KMOV in February 2024 about their relationship and previous alleged incidents.
“He was very jealous of her not spending all of her time with him,” Maki’s mother, Lisa Brock, explained. “He was just making her life miserable.”
On the day of the shooting, Brock said Metzger asked her to come over to their shared apartment and bring a dog they had adopted while dating so he could see it one last time. “I said, ‘I don’t feel good about this,’ and she said, ‘Neither do I,'” Brock told KMOV-TV. “So, I said, ‘Don’t go.'”
Metzger was sentenced to life in prison Monday, with no credit for the 583 days he spent in jail, according to Brandmeyer’s office.
During his sentencing hearing, Brandmeyer claimed that Metzger acted “under no provocation from any other person.” He stated that there were “no grounds which would excuse or justify Metzger’s actions,” according to his office, and that it would be “impossible” for Metzger to ever compensate Maki’s family for the “damage or injury” caused.
“No matter what happens here today, [Metzger] still has his life,” Brandmeyer informed the court. “It’s a tragedy that Ms. Maki doesn’t.”
Metzger’s lawyers attempted to argue for a reduced sentence based on his alleged mental state and mental health issues at the time of the murder. Brandmeyer countered by claiming that Metzger did not seek a diagnosis for any mental health disorder and was never prescribed psychotropic medications.
Even if he was, Metzger was “also not interested in being prescribed medication for any potential mental health issue that he asserted to have,” according to the state attorney’s office. “Brandmeyer further argued that despite Metzger’s claim that he consumed cocaine, THC and alcohol beginning the night prior to and up until the time of the incident, Metzger never sought substance abuse treatment and denied having a substance abuse problem,” the lawyers stated.
“Today was about Alexis, her family, her friends, and everyone who cared about her,” Brandmeyer said in a statement. “While no sentence will bring Alexis back. I hope that a new chapter can begin for her family and friends, and that they can continue to work toward some form of closure.”
