Belleville woman reacts to boyfriend’s admission that he killed her mother in Troy fire
A Belleville woman is hoping that her former boyfriend gets the maximum sentence of 50 years in prison now that he has admitted to killing her mother by setting her Troy duplex on fire.
Michael E. Sloan Jr., 41, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in Madison County Circuit Court on Monday. His sentencing hearing is set for Feb. 26, according to a news release from State’s Attorney Tom Haine’s office.
“I’m glad he’s not taking it to trial and fighting it, and he’s taking responsibility for his actions and ready to go to prison and do his time,” Courtney Tomlinson, 40, of Belleville, told the BND.
Her 69-year-old mother, Susanne Tomlinson, of Troy, formerly of Edwardsville, died on Sept. 22, 2022.
Sloan was rescued from the fire and spent several weeks in a St. Louis hospital, where he was treated for severe burns. He was then transferred to the Madison County Jail, where he has remained on a $1 million bond.
Courtney Tomlinson attended Monday morning’s hearing at the Madison County Criminal Justice Center in Edwardsville with Associate Judge Neil Schroeder presiding.
“We’ve seen each other a couple of times,” she said, referring to Sloan. “I’ve been at every court date. I’m supporting my mother.”
Sloan faces up to 50 years in prison, and prosecutors are asking for the maximum sentence, the news release stated. Haine called it an “especially heinous and cruel crime.”
Courtney Tomlinson and Sloan formerly lived together on Wood Thrush Street in Troy with her two children, then 12 and 9. She said she was kicking him out because he owed her money.
Haine’s office charged Sloan with three counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted first-degree murder, one count of aggravated arson and one count of aggravated unlawful restraint on Sept. 27, 2022.
Some of the charges related to a domestic dispute at Courtney Tomlinson’s duplex in Troy shortly before the fire.
The charging document alleged that Sloan ordered her to bind herself with zip-ties on her wrists, covered her with gasoline, held a knife to her throat and threatened to kill her before she escaped to a neighbor’s house and he walked down the street to her mother’s duplex on Wood Thrush carrying a gas can.
A neighbor called 911. After police arrived, Sloan yelled, “Everybody is going to die today,” then locked himself inside with Susanne Tomlinson, who was screaming, Courtney Tomlinson said at the time.
On Monday, Assistant State’s Attorney Lauren Maricle told Judge Schroeder that evidence showed that Sloan poured gasoline on Susanne Tomlinson and her duplex before starting the fire with a cigarette lighter.
“Flames and heavy smoke hindered attempts to get into the burning home,” the news release stated. “An autopsy revealed that Susanne Tomlinson died of smoke inhalation and burn injuries.”
In November 2022, Sloan asked for his bond to be reduced from $1 million to $400,000 so he could pay $40,000 (10%), get out of jail and undergo “burn rehabilitation” at a residential treatment facility.
A judge denied Sloan’s motion after Courtney Tomlinson and prosecutors opposed it, partly on the basis that he was a threat to society and to Courtney Tomlinson and her children.
When asked how she was doing Monday, Courtney Tomlinson said, “I’m surviving. I’m still numb, not really understanding what happened. I don’t understand why he would want to kill me and then kill my mom.
“I had to hear him plead guilty today. I knew he was guilty, but it’s different when you hear it come out of someone’s mouth.”
This story was originally published January 8, 2024 at 5:43 PM.
