Man pleads guilty to 2023 murder of DeKalb teen Gracie Sasso-Cleveland

SYCAMORE – A month before an expected jury trial was set to convene, Timothy M. Doll, 31, pleaded guilty Wednesday to murdering DeKalb teenager Gracie Sasso-Cleveland in May 2023.

The 15-year-old Sasso-Cleveland’s loved ones had expected Doll’s case to head to a jury trial next month. It was set to convene March 4. Instead, prosecutor Scott Schwertley with the DeKalb County State’s Attorney’s Office told Circuit Court Judge Philip Montgomery on Wednesday that he, Doll and Doll’s defense lawyer, Andrew Nickel, agreed to a plea deal.

“I’m not sure how I feel right now,” Gracie’s mother, Ericka Sasso, said Wednesday after the plea. “I feel a mixture of so many emotions. I’ve been waiting patiently for my baby girl to get some justice, so I thought I’d feel better, and hopefully I will after this initial shock.”

Doll pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder. He suffocated the DeKalb High School freshman to death after they argued at his apartment the night of May 4, 2023.

Montgomery will hand down the sentence.

Doll faces 20 to 60 years in prison. Under Illinois law, he will not be eligible for probation and will not get credit for the time he has served in custody without bond at the DeKalb County Jail. He’s been held without release since his May 2023 arrest.

In the hearing, Doll waived his right to a jury or bench trial.

“Are you guilty?” Montgomery said to Doll. “Did you do this?”

“Yes, your honor,” Doll said in reply.

Doll previously pleaded not guilty. Before police found the girl, Doll initially denied being with Sasso-Cleveland on May 4, 2023. He tried to hide evidence that she’d been in his home, prosecutors said. After he suffocated her with a pillow for about three minutes, Doll took her body, placed it in a laundry basket, and carried the basket to a nearby dumpster, attempting to hide evidence of the crime, according to court records.

Police found and spoke to him at Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital later that night.

He told police that he’d injured his back while lifting Sasso-Cleveland’s slain body, and called an ambulance to his apartment that night, court records show. During a warrant search of Doll’s apartment building, DeKalb police also found female clothing in the basement that matched the description of clothing that Sasso-Cleveland last wore, records show.

Ericka Sasso reported Gracie missing two days later on May 6. Sasso-Cleveland’s body was found by police the next day. The DeKalb County Coroner’s Office ruled that Sasso-Cleveland died from asphyxiation May 4, records show.

The teenager’s body was found by DeKalb police inside a dumpster next to Doll’s apartment in the 500 block of College Avenue on May 7.

Police and prosecutors have alleged that Doll, while a registered sex offender, was in an illegal dating relationship with Sasso-Cleveland, a girl half his age. Police said he also admitted that he knew Sasso-Cleveland was 15.

Doll is expected to be sentenced during a hearing at 1:30 p.m. April 30. He’s also ordered to attend a pre-sentencing status hearing at 9 a.m. March 27.

Since Sasso-Cleveland was killed, loved ones have organized multiple vigils, heavenly birthday parties dubbed “Gracie’s Day” and more. They’ve also organized protests outside the DeKalb County Courthouse calling for harsher sentences for those convicted of sex crimes.

Loved ones remembered Sasso-Cleveland for her love of art and animals. They held a posthumous sweet 16 birthday party in September 2023. She would have turned 17 on Sept. 14, 2024.

Linda Nelson, Sasso-Cleveland’s grandmother, has kept up with court hearings since her granddaughter was killed, attending often via Zoom.

On Wednesday, she shared in a statement to Shaw Local that she hopes Doll’s sentence fits the enormity of his crime.

“We are relieved that Doll has finally plead guilty for Gracie’s death, but our hearts remain irreparably broken,” Nelson said in a statement. “While nothing can bring her back, knowing justice will be served brings some comfort. We hope he receives the maximum sentence so no other child suffers. Enough is enough.”

Sasso said her world “is so dark” without her daughter, and she struggles almost two years later knowing that she’ll never get to see Gracie’s face or hear her laugh.

“I’m so glad he will be in prison and that he will pay for what he did to her,” Sasso said. “But a huge part of me died with her.”