Guilty plea in 2010 stabbing

• Reprints

Updated: December 29, 2011 9:50AM

Eric Gilford, 36, formerly of Downers Grove, has pled guilty to the 2010 stabbing death of his wife, Kristine Gilford, and her unborn child.

On May 26, 2010, Gilford entered the home of an acquaintance in Villa Park and there stabbed his pregnant wife to death and then fled the scene.

The murder was witnessed by Kristine Gilford’s young daughter, who was celebrating her fourth birthday that day. The young girl was left unharmed.

Gilford then fled the state. Authorities were able to charge Gilford with the murder based upon evidence gathered at the crime scene by the Villa Park Police Department.

A nationwide manhunt for Gilford ensued with the assistance of the United States Marshals Service and the United States Navy, in which Gilford was serving.

On Aug. 6, Gilford was apprehended by authorities in Jackson, Wyo. At the time of his arrest was living at a local mission under an alias.

Following his extradition to Illinois, DuPage County Judge Kathryn Creswell, who is presiding over Gilford’s trial in Wheaton, ordered he be held without bond.

“This morning, Eric Gilford took responsibility for the murder of his wife and her unborn child,” DuPage County State’s Attorner Robert E. Berlin said Friday. “His actions not only took the life of his wife and an unborn child who never got the chance to live, they also took a mother away from a 4-year-old child who will now have to live her life without the love and protection that a mother provides.”

In exchange for his guilty plea, the state has agreed to cap its sentence recommendation for both crimes at 140 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Gilford’s next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 9 for return of the pre-sentencing report. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Aug. 16 in front of Creswell.