GREER MAN RECEIVES 30-YEAR PRISON SENTENCE FOR KILLING HIS WIFE

A Greer man received a 30-year prison sentence today after he admitted to using a shovel to beat his wife to death.

John David Chesterman, 34, pleaded guilty to murder before Circuit Judge Mark Hayes. He will serve every day of the prison sentence.

John Chesterman killed Elizabeth “Liz” Chesterman, 31, at the couple’s Gap Creek Road home on May 22, 2004. Sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of a domestic disturbance about 9:45 p.m. and they found the body in the living room. She was lying on the living room floor with visible injuries to her head, face and neck. A blood-soaked shovel was found near the body. Liz died as a result of blunt force trauma to the head and upper body.

John Chesterman left the home before deputies arrived. He called his father in Indiana and told him about the incident. John’s father called 911 in Spartanburg County to report the crime. Indiana police arrested John Chesterman days later in their jurisdiction. He had no criminal record prior to the murder charge.

The victim’s family and scores of friends attended the guilty plea. Liz worked as a patent officer for the Greenville office of Nelson, Mullins, Riley and Scarborough.

“The loss of life is lamentable no matter who the victim is but this case is unusual in that Liz Chesterman touched so many people’s lives in a variety of ways,” Solicitor Trey Gowdy said. “Her representation in court is wonderful testimony to what an extraordinary person she was.”