93-year-old in deadly Ill. stabbing of his wife appears in court; concedes detention

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) -- A 93-year-old Pekin man appeared in court Thursday afternoon on charges he killed his wife by cutting her throat.

James Pate appeared by way of video conferencing monitors in Tazewell County Circuit Court. He had been charged Wednesday with murder in connection with the death of his 80-year-old wife, Cheryl Pate, on Tuesday,

Pate stood at a lectern with his attorney, Public Defender Luke Taylor. He was the last person in the early afternoon docket.

He wore a black and white jail inmate jumpsuit. Taylor stood by him explaining the process and what was to happen. Taylor waived any need for prosecutors to establish probable cause.

Prosecutors allege he cut his wife's throat after an argument while they two were driving in the middle of town.

On Thursday, Tazewell County Circuit Judge Chris Doscotch ruled probable cause existed to sustain the charges, which carry a maximum prison term of 60 years behind bars.

Taylor said he hasn't had a chance to review all the evidence and police reports with Pate, but they would "concede" to detention for now. However, Taylor said he would like to come back in "in short order" to review the detention order.

The concession means that it is as if no hearing was ever held and as such, there's no ruling yet. Pate, through his attorney, is agreeing to detention until such time when Taylor will be ready to have a hearing.

The next scheduled court date is 2:30 p.m., Oct. 2 but given the detention hearing issue, that could come sooner.

The allegations

During an interview, Pate allegedly said that he and Cheryl were planning to file for divorce and he had a lot of pent-up anger and "couldn't take it anymore," according to a probable cause statement filed Wednesday in court.

He also said that he and Cheryl were in the car when they got into an argument so he parked the car. He said that Cheryl then allegedly lunged at him "as if to scratch his face" and that he pushed her away and struck her, according to the probable cause statement.

He allegedly told investigators he then grabbed a knife from the car's center console and cut her throat.

Pate allegedly told officers he threw the knife in the woods next to the driveway, where officers later found it, documents said.