FERGUS FALLS, Minn. — A 24-year-old man with a history of mental illness has been sentenced to serve more than three decades in prison for killing a woman and her adult son in Otter Tail County.
A judge earlier rejected William Hillman’s mental illness defense and found him guilty of fatally beating 42-year-old Denise McFadzen and 21-year-old Dalton McFadzen at their home north of Perham in April 2018. The McFadzens had allowed Hillman to live in their home in Gorman Township.
Hillman was sentenced to a 51-year term by Otter Tail County Judge Kevin Miller. With credit for time in jail since his arrest nearly three years ago, He will serve more than 32 years in prison and the rest on supervised release.
According to court records, Hillman told investigators he had not taken his medication for schizophrenia for five months. Authorities say the victims were beaten with a large pipe wrench.
