Dayton Man Found Guilty of Murder

A Dayton man accused of beating to death a businessman and then incinerating his body and dumping the ashes into the Fox River has been found guilty of murder. It took a LaSalle County jury three hours Friday to find 49-year-old William Horman guilty of first-degree murder in the death of 47-year-old Robert Dowd. The sentencing of Horman was set for April 29th. He faces up to 60 years in prison. Prosecutors say Horman clubbed Dowd to death after a deal that would see him get a stake in a business fell through. An accomplice, Jonathan Beckman, was also charged with murder and concealing the death. However, he entered into a plea deal in which murder charges were dropped in exchange for 2-1/2 years in prison for concealing Dowd’s death.