73-year-old man responsible for two McHenry County murders in 1970 denied parole once again: ‘I lead a charmed life,’ was a response he gave when asked why he killed.
MCHENRY COUNTY – As residents may be aware, McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally announced that Phillip Soper, 73, was once again denied parole on Feb. 24 via a decision that was unanimously made by the Illinois Prisoner Review Board.
Soper is currently incarcerated at the Sheridan Correctional Center located in LaSalle County, where he is serving two consecutive 150–200-year sentences for the first-degree murders of Marlene Ahrens of Woodstock and Guenther Dolenske of McHenry.
On Dec. 17, 1970, Soper armed himself with a .22 caliber handgun and attempted to rob what he thought was a McHenry tavern.
It was during the robbery attempt that Soper mistakenly approached the rear entrance of a dental office instead, where he crossed paths with Ahrens who was leaving her job as a dental assistant.
The masked Soper fired one fatal shot into Ahrens’ chest and then fired repeatedly at the building owner, John Boeker, who had come to investigate the initial shooting, the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office stated.
Despite Boeker being struck by one of the bullets, he managed to survive his injuries.
The following day on Dec. 18, 1970, a masked Soper entered the Farmhouse Tavern armed with the same .22 caliber handgun he used to murder Ahrens.
While inside the establishment, Soper robbed the patrons and bartender of approximately $750.
Before exiting the tavern, Soper fired five fatal shots into the chest and abdomen of Dolenske.
According to the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office, surviving members of the Ahrens and Dolenske families were permitted to lodge their formal protest to Soper’s release during a remote hearing before a Prisoner Review Board Member on Jan. 19, 2022.
Criminal Division Chief Jim Newman appeared before Illinois Prisoner Review Board members and argued that releasing Soper would deprecate the seriousness of his offenses.
Newman reminded the board that before coming to McHenry County, Soper had previously admitted to killing people in Ohio and also has a life prison sentence in Wisconsin for the murders of four other individuals.
Following Soper’s parole denial, the board ordered that any future requests not be considered for five additional years.
Soper’s last parole request before the board was made back in January 2017. He was interviewed on Nov. 30, 2016, for parole consideration at Stateville Correctional Center, a maximum-security prison located in Crest Hill, Illinois where he had been confined since 2014.
According to the board members at the time, Soper did not have a high school education or any skills on paper, although he made claims that he was a chef.
Soper was also said to have a mental illness and a disability.
During his 2017 parole review, when asked by a member of the board why he killed, Soper simply responded with, “I lead a charmed life,” while also noting that he did not recall committing those offenses.
Additionally, at that same parole review, Soper’s sister told board members that Soper was beaten by his father as a child, however, Soper stated that he did not recall that occurring.
Soper was denied parole in 2017 by a vote of 12-0, with the previous board members also indicating that paroling Soper would deprecate the seriousness of the crimes he committed.
Soper’s projected prison discharge date is Feb. 11, 2162.
“Currently, legislators in Springfield are considering resurrecting the parole laws that were in effect at the same time Mr. Soper committed these unspeakable crimes and that he now benefits from,” said Kenneally. “The fact that the victims, in this case, have to hold their breath every few years and hope that a new parole panel in Springfield does the right thing is absurd and prevents victims of crime from truly ever moving on.”
