Michael Bassaly/DuPage County State’s Attorney
DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert B. Berlin announced today that Michael Bassaly, 30 formerly of Downers Grove, has been sentenced to 55 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for the 2013 shooting death of his mother Yvonne Zaky Bassaly, 61, also of Downers Grove. Because a jury also found Bassaly guilty of personally discharging the firearm that killed his mother, he was eligible for an extended prison term in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Judge Daniel Guerin sentenced Bassaly following a three-day-long trial which concluded on February 23, 2017. Bassaly has been held in custody without bond at the DuPage County Jail since the murder.
At approximately 12:53 a.m. on August 29, 2013, in response to a 911 emergency call placed by the defendant, Burr Ridge police were dispatched to St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church. Upon arriving at the scene, officers discovered Bassaly’s mother in the backseat of his vehicle. She had been shot once in the head and was gasping for air. Mrs. Bassaly was immediately taken from the scene by ambulance to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead at 1:42 a.m. An investigation conducted by the Burr Ridge Police Department resulted in First Degree Murder charges against Bassaly as the man who shot his mother in the head.
“This afternoon, Michael Bassaly learned that for the execution style murder of his mother, he will spend the next fifty-five years behind bars,” Berlin said. “The senseless murder of Yvonne Zaky Bassaly has touched the lives of so many. It is my sincerest hope that the entire Bassaly family will now be able to move forward with their lives as they close the book on this horrible tragedy that has affected them all. I would like to thank the Burr Ridge Police Department and the Felony Investigative Assistance Team for their efforts on this very sad case. I would also like to thank Assistant State’s Attorneys Steve Knight and Jennifer Lindt for their outstanding work in proving beyond any doubt that Michael Bassaly murdered his mother.”
Judge Guerin sentenced Bassaly to thirty years for the murder of his mother subject to a 25-year add on for personally discharging the weapon that killed his mother. He faced a maximum penalty of life in the Illinois Department of Corrections.