Travares Mitchell | Kane County State's Attorney's Office
CHICAGO - An Aurora man has been sentenced to 105 years in prison for fatally shooting his domestic partner after crashing a car in 2024.
What we know:
A Kane County judge sentenced 51-year-old Travares O. Mitchell after a jury convicted him Nov. 12, 2025, of first-degree murder and armed habitual criminal, according to the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Aurora police responded Jan. 13, 2024, to reports of a single-vehicle crash and gunfire near Prairie Street and Woodlawn Avenue. Officers found 46-year-old Serhonda Burnett in the crashed vehicle with multiple gunshot wounds.
Burnett was taken to a hospital, where she later died. An autopsy determined her cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds.
Prosecutors said evidence showed Mitchell, Burnett’s recent domestic partner, crashed the vehicle into a tree before exiting the driver’s seat and firing three shots through the driver’s side window. Burnett was struck and ultimately suffered a total of 10 gunshot wounds, authorities said.
Mitchell fled the scene on foot. Investigators used witness statements, surveillance video and DNA evidence recovered from the vehicle’s airbag to determine Mitchell had been driving the car, prosecutors said.
A warrant was issued for Mitchell’s arrest Feb. 21, 2024. He was arrested March 6, 2024, in Orlando, Florida, and later transferred to the Kane County Jail.
Judge Tegeler sentenced Mitchell to 80 years in prison for first-degree murder, including a 25-year sentencing enhancement for personally discharging a firearm. He also received a consecutive 25-year sentence for armed habitual criminal, bringing the total sentence to 105 years.
Under Illinois law, Mitchell must serve the full 80-year murder sentence and at least 85% of the 25-year armed habitual criminal sentence. He was credited with 731 days already served in custody.
What they're saying:
"This sentence is also about the victim and her family who loved her and mourn her absence," Kane County Assistant State's Attorney Hillary Sadler said. "No sentence can restore what was taken or erase the pain of her loss. To the victim’s family, we extend our deepest condolences and our sincere gratitude for the strength you showed throughout this process. And today, the justice system has spoken in a way that honors the value of her life."
The Source: The information in this article came from the Kane County State's Attorney's Office and previous Fox Chicago reporting.