
894 N.E.2d 896 (2008)
The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
Casey NOWICKI, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 1-05-3645.
Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, Sixth Division.
August 29, 2008.
*903 Office of the State Appellate Defender, Chicago (Brian A. McNeil, Assistant Appellate Defender, Michael J. Pelletier, Deputy Defender, of counsel), for Appellant.
Cook County State's Attorney's Office, Chicago (Richard A. Devine, State's Attorney, James Fitzgerald, Peter Fischer, Assistant State's Attorneys of Counsel), for Appellee.
Justice JOSEPH GORDON delivered the opinion of the court:
In December 2000, defendant, Casey Nowicki, was charged in a seven count indictment for the 1984 murder of the victim, Marcy Andrews, whose body was never found. Following a jury trial in the circuit court of Cook County, defendant was found guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to natural life in prison. Defendant contemporaneouslypounds.
Sara testified at trial that Marcy was not Robert's daughter but rather the daughter of James Prather, who was no longer alive at the time of the trial. Sara explained that she married Robert when Marcy was 11 years old and that she then changed Marcy's last name to Andrews. According to Sara, Marcy lived in an apartment in her step-grandmother's house on the northwest side of Chicago.
According to Sara, sometime in 1982, Marcy approached her and told her that she had a drinking problem and that she wanted to go to a treatment center. Sara stated that soon thereafter Marcy entered herself in a program called Crossroads at St. Xavier University, where she stayed for about nine months. While at Crossroads, Marcy attended Daley Junior Community College.