Man sentenced to 103 years for murder of Cape woman

Jackson County, Illinois, Judge Ralph Bloodworth sentenced Brandon L. Banks, 31, of Cape Girardeau to 103 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for the murder of Marsha Brown.

Banks will receive credit for time served, which was 967 days since he was arrested in St. Louis two days after the shooting, but he will be mandated to serve a total of 97 years in prison.

Banks shot Brown, 40, of Cape Girardeau on Jan. 13, 2014, on Potters Road near Makanda, Illinois, according to a news release.

They were in a vehicle with two other people when Banks began arguing with Brown and demanded everyone exit the vehicle, according to the release.

Once outside, Banks shot Brown in the face and fired two more shots into her body, the release stated.

Everyone got back in the car, and Brown’s body was left on a grassy embankment to be found by Jackson County sheriff’s deputies the next day, according to the release.

Earlier the night of Jan. 13, Banks and Brown went to a party in Carbondale, Illinois. Brown called 911 that night and told dispatchers she was being held against her will but did not know her location, according to the release.

The case was investigated by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Carbondale Police Department and Murphysboro Police Department with help from the Cape Girardeau Police Department, St. Louis Police Department, St. Louis County Sheriff’s Department, federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Marshals Office and U.S. Secret Service, to the release stated.

Jackson County State’s Attorney Michael C. Carr and assistant state’s attorney Abigail Dinn handled the prosecution, the release stated.

bkleine@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address: 1001 Walnut St., Murphysboro, IL