People v. Houpe

── People v. Houpe ── Court: Appellate Court of Illinois Date: April 16, 2026 Category: General 2026 IL App (1st) 231421-U No. 1-23-1421 Order filed April 16, 2026 Fourth Division NOTICE: This order was filed under Supreme Court Rule 23 and is not precedent except in the limited circumstances allowed under Rule 23(e)(1). ______________________________________________________________________________ IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS FIRST DISTRICT ______________________________________________________________________________ THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) Appeal from the ) Circuit Court of Plaintiff-Appellee, ) Cook County. ) v. ) No. 19 CR 12779 ) MATARIMO HOUPE, ) Honorable ) John F. Lyke Jr., Defendant-Appellant. ) Judge, presiding. PRESIDING JUSTICE NAVARRO delivered the judgment of the court. Justices Ocasio and Quish concurred in the judgment. ORDER ¶1 Held: We affirm defendant’s conviction for first degree murder over her claims of insufficient evidence and ineffective assistance of counsel. ¶2 Following a bench trial, defendant Matarimo “Gina” Houpe was found guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Defendant appeals, arguing the State failed to prove she had the requisite intent to kill and that her trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance by failing to argue for involuntary manslaughter. We affirm. No. 1-23-1421 ¶3 In 2019, defendant was charged by indictment with three counts of first degree murder for intentionally or knowingly shooting and killing Andrew Owens (counts I-III) (720 ILCS 5/9- 1(a)(1) (West 2018)), and three additional counts of first degree murder for shooting Andrew, knowing such act created a strong probability of death or great bodily harm (counts IV-VI) (720 ILCS 5/9-1(a)(2) (West 2018)). (Because Andrew and a witness, Rachel Owens, have the same last name, we refer to them by their first names.) Before trial, the State nol-prossed counts II, III, V, and VI and amended counts I and IV to “strike the while armed with a firearm language.” ¶4 At defendant’s 2022 trial, Rachel Owens testified that she was Andrew’s cousin and had grown up with defendant. Around 8:30 p.m. on August 14, 2019, Rachel and Andrew were attending a repast at Rachel’s sister’s home on the 6100 block of South Indiana Avenue in Chicago. Over 200 people were gathered in and around the residence. Rachel received a phone call regarding a fight outside. Rachel and Andrew went outside and saw a group of people—including defendant’s 18-year-old son, Trevonte Starks—drag defendant across the street and hold her against a vehicle. Defendant’s ex-boyfriend and Trevonte’s father, Eddie Starks, was across the street. Rachel and Andrew joined the group, and Andrew and Trevonte tried to persuade defendant to stop fighting and “leave it alone.” Defendant tried to get away as the group physically restrained her. ¶5 Defendant’s sister, Shaquita “Mickey” Cottingham, walked to the back of the crowd with a pink handgun and said, “I got it on me,” then withdrew as police vehicles drove down the block. As Trevonte held defendant against a gate, Trevonte had either an asthma or a panic attack an