ROCKFORD WOMAN SENTENCED TO 15 YEARS FOR HEROIN DEATH

ROCKFORD -- A 28-year-old Rockford woman received a 15-year prison
sentence Friday for injecting a 20-year-old man with a dose of heroin
that killed him.

Renee M. Allen pleaded guilty to a felony charge of drug-induced
homicide in May. She faced six to 30 years in prison.

After hearing testimony from Allen's mother and the victim's father
and sister, Judge Joe McGraw said the crime was tragic on many
levels, including the loss of Matthew Reafler's life and waste of Allen's.

Reafler's body was discovered Oct. 5 in his apartment in the 1200
block of Sixth Avenue. After an autopsy and investigation, Rockford
police obtained an arrest warrant Oct. 12 for Allen, who was seen
leaving Reafler's apartment the night of Oct. 2.

Reafler picked up Allen, who said she was a drug addict and
prostitute before her arrest last fall, as she walked that night near
Seventh Street and Broadway. He told her that he wanted "to party and
have some fun," Allen said. Reafler and Allen bought some heroin from
a nearby house and went back to his apartment to use it, she said.

Allen shot a dose of heroin into herself and Reafler, she said, at
his request. Afterward, she said he was fine for a while and then
"was really high."

"He laid down. He wasn't gasping for breath," she said. "I didn't
think he was dying, or I would have called 911 or done anything to help him."

Allen said she took money from Reafler's pants pocket and left. She
said she didn't have sex with him.

Reafler's family members recalled Reafler's kind-hearted and forgiving nature.

"He was great with children," his father, Robert Reafler, said. "I
was so looking forward to him getting married and having children of
his own and raising them."

Allen apologized for her actions several times, saying she wants to
change her life, rehabilitate and be a good mother to her 4-year-old
son, who is being raised by his grandparents.

"I never want to do drugs again. I want my life back," she said.
"It's sad that it took something like this to make me realize that
life that is not one big party."

Prosecuting attorney Michael Combs said he was hoping for a 20-year
sentence, but is happy with 15. Allen has 283 days of credit for time
served in the Winnebago County Jail. She will receive day-for-day
credit for good behavior on her 15-year sentence.

"She doesn't really have much of a criminal history," Combs said
after the hearing. "It's significant in the message that is being
sent about the delivery of controlled substances. It recognizes the
seriousness of this crime, especially in light of the recent high
number of heroin deaths."