Man sentenced for 1999 cold case murder of Chicago woman

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Nearly a decade after being arrested, a man has been sentenced for the 1998 murder of a Chicago woman.

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Jerome Lawrence was arrested in September 2015 for the killing of Marjorie Collette in 1999.

He escaped from an Arkansas jail not long after the crime and lived under an assumed name for 16 years until a friend spotted him in Chicago and called the police.

Lawrence had been arrested several times in Florida but police there were not aware of the nationwide manhunt.

The now 55-year-old was originally accused of beating and smothering 65-year-old Collette in her home.

On Monday, he pleaded guilty to one count of home invasion/cause injury.

He was sentenced to 17 years and must serve 85%. He will be given credit for the 3,434 days already served.