Man Convicted In Brutal 2010 Baseball Bat Attack, Faces Up To 120 Years In Prison

By Chuck Sudo in News on Oct 25, 2013 4:45PM

Heriberto Viramontes

Heriberto Viramontes could face as much as 120 years behind bars after he was convicted in the 2010 Bucktown beating of Natasha McShane and Stacy Jurich Thursday. A jury deliberated the case for three hours before handing in their verdict.

McShane and Jurich were attacked underneath a viaduct by Viramontes and his girlfriend Marcy Cruz in April 2010. McShane, graduate student at the University of Illinois at Chicago, has never been the same. Jurors were shown video of McShane struggling with basic tasks in her everyday life in Northern Ireland; she was not told that the trial was in progress by her family.

Jurich still bears her own physical and mental scars from the attack and testified about them during the trial. She said, “I heard my head being hit and I felt excruciating pain and sort of lost my equilibrium” when Viramontes attacked her and McShane. Jurich added that Viramontes called her a “stupid bitch.”

Jurich told media after the verdict that justice was served.

"There hasn't been a night that passed in 31/2 years that I didn't wake up in a night terror reliving what happened," said Jurich, now engaged to be married. "To know that this person can never walk on the street with me again is extremely comforting. ... I'm really looking forward to my life going forward."

Viramontes was convicted on 10 counts of attempted first-degree murder, armed robbery and aggravated battery. The Tribune spoke with McShane’s grandmother Bernadette by phone from Northern Ireland who said, "I'm just relieved that it's all over. Total relief that it's all over."

"It's not over, of course, for Natasha. She got a sentence too."

Marcy Cruz cut a deal with prosecutors and testified against Viramontes during the trial. She received a 22-year prison term.