McHenry Co. Deputy Dwight Maness' death ruled homicide, no charges filed

WOODSTOCK, Ill. (WLS) -- The death of a McHenry County sheriff's deputy is now ruled a homicide, but the man who shot him will not face murder charges.

Deputy Dwight Maness died 11 months after being shot multiple times. Those wounds, according to the coroner, were ultimately the cause of his death. But his widow, Sue Maness, says she agrees with the decision not to try the gunman with murder.

For Maness' loved-ones, his loss has been unbearable.

"He had a lot of people that loved him and needed him, and Scott Peters took him away from us," Sue Maness said.

Peters, of Holiday Hills, is now behind bars for shooting Maness and another McHenry County sheriff's deputy during a domestic call last October. The multiple gunshot wounds left Deputy Maness unable to walk.

His grueling year in rehab ending tragically last month, when he died suddenly of a pulmonary embolism after a blood clot traveled to his lung.

"His main goal was to get back to work, and he fought and fought," Sue Maness said.

Peters was convicted of attempted murder and is now serving a 135-year sentence.

But while Maness' death has been ruled a homicide - with the cause attributed to his gunshot wounds - prosecutors have chosen not to try Peters for murder.

The decision, made after consulting Sue Maness, spares the family another trial.

"Dwight would not want to put his entire family through that again. I know that, so I don't think I could go through it again," Sue Maness said. "My husband was everything Scott Peters wishes he was."

Peters will likely die behind bars. He would be 166 years old on the earliest date of his release.

Sue Maness said she would pursue murder charges if there was any chance Peters could be free. There is no statute of limitations for murder.