Peoria woman sentenced for 2022 shooting death of 21-year-old woman

A 26-year-old woman was sentenced to 14 years in prison Wednesday on second-degree murder charges for her role in the 2022 shooting death of a 21-year-old woman.

Kaitlyn Taylor pled guilty in February on charges that she shot and killed Mariah Faith Moss at an apartment in the 300 block of South Sterling Avenue in July 2022, following a dispute between the two that included an alleged incident of Moss threatening to assault her with a TV.

Taylor had been charged with both first- and second-degree murder but pled down to the lesser charge, which had a sentencing guideline of 10 to 20 years in prison.

At Wednesday's sentencing hearing, Peoria County Circuit Judge John Vespa leaned more in the direction of Taylor and her defense counsel, local attorney Hugh Toner, who argued that while her actions on the night of the murder couldn't be taken away, she was sincere in her regrets and would take back what she did if she could.

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This was balanced out by an emotional statement by Moss' father, Gary Moss, who repeatedly called Taylor a "coward" for killing his daughter and leaving her child without a mother. He said that she had destroyed multiple families and that he wished nothing but bad things upon her. As he left the courtroom, Gary Moss turned to Taylor and said "Burn in hell."

Assistant Peoria County State's Attorney Dave Gast said that while there were a lot of people who supported Taylor, Moss did not have that same luxury due to her death. He also said that Taylor had a history of volatility —including expulsion from Peoria High School — even though she had not had any felony or misdemeanor charges prior to the killing.

Gast also said that there wasn't any evidence to show that Taylor was willing to expand her thought process while she was in the county jail awaiting trial, which he felt didn't bode well for her future.

Taylor, for her part, spoke up for a short period during the hearing, reiterating her feelings that the fatal shooting was unintentional and that she was still trying to forgive herself for her actions nearly two years ago.

Before rendering the sentence, Vespa said that he alone couldn't attempt to cure all the problems with society in one fell swoop. He did note that the case was extremely difficult to adjudicate, trying to balance the desires of the Moss family and the state for justice with the desire of Taylor and her family and friends to see her treated fairly.

He also said that Taylor's letter following her guilty plea was the best he had ever seen from a defendant and felt that the prospects for her rehabilitation were good.

Taylor was also sentenced to one year of mandatory supervised release following her time in prison.

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This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Woman sentenced to prison for 2022 shooting death in Peoria