Sarah Kolb And Cory Gregory Murder Adrianne Reynolds

Sarah Kolb and Cory Gregory were two teen killers from Illinois who were convicted of the murder of Adrianne Reynolds

According to court documents Adrianne Reynolds was a sixteen year old girl who had recently moved to the area. Unfortunately she made the mistake of flirting with Cory Gregory who was dating Sarah Kolb

Instead of letting the flirting pass Sarah Kolb and Cory Gregory came up with a plan to eliminate her. They would invite Adrianne Reynolds out for lunch and while the three were inside of the vehicle Cory Gregory would restrain Adrianne and Sarah Kolb would brutally stab her to death. Adrianne would then be dismembered

Sarah Kolb and Cory Gregory would be arrested and later be convicted at trial

Sarah Kolb would be sentenced to fifty three years in prison

Cory Gregory would received a forty seven year prison sentence

Since being incarcerated Cory Gregory now goes by the name of Harley Quinn. Sarah Kolb would also transition into a man however is still found under her birth name

Sarah Kolb Current Information

Cory Gregory Current Information

Sarah Kolb And Cory Gregory Case

A teenage girl was convicted Wednesday in the killing of a 16-year-old classmate who was choked, beaten and sawed into pieces after an argument over boys.

Sarah Kolb, 17, faces up to 60 years in prison.

The victim, Adrianne Reynolds, had just moved to East Moline from Texas about two months before she was killed. Prosecutors said she was just trying to fit in at a new school but picked the wrong friend.

On Jan. 21, 2005, Kolb, Reynolds and schoolmate Cory Gregory were in Kolb’s car at a fast-food restaurant when the fight began. Reynolds was killed and her body was burned, dismembered and hidden in two counties.

Gregory also is charged with murder and concealing a homicide. He is scheduled to stand trial May 1.

Kolb showed no reaction as the verdict was read. Her family and Reynolds’ family wept quietly as the jury was polled.

The trial was Kolb’s second in three months. The first ended in a mistrial in November when a Rock Island County jury deadlocked 11-1 in favor of conviction. Her retrial was moved to Dixon, about 60 miles from the Quad Cities.

In the retrial, Rock Island County State’s Attorney Jeff Terronez said Kolb wrote in a class journal that she was going to kill Reynolds just hours before Reynolds was beaten and strangled in the car.

Terronez said Kolb was angry because Reynolds had shown interest in Kolb’s boyfriend and Gregory, her ex-boyfriend.

Defense attorney David Hoffman told jurors it was Gregory who killed Reynolds. But prosecutors said Kolb was still accountable because she choked and beat Reynolds before Gregory “finished her off.”

Prosecutors say the two took the girl’s body to Kolb’s grandparents’ farm and burned it, then returned two days later, sawed the body into pieces and dumped the remains on the farm and in Black Hawk State Park in Rock Island.

In her first trial, Kolb testified that Gregory strangled Reynolds, then hit Kolb and threatened to kill her, her family and her cats if she reported the crime. Gregory, who has pleaded not guilty, denied that account in a television interview.

Kolb did not testify in her second trial, and the defense rested without presenting a case.

Girl Who Dismembered Friend Convicted – CBS News

Sarah Kolb And Cory Gregory Video

Watch Sarah Kolb And Cory Gregory Video – Teens Who Kill

Watch Sarah Kolb And Cory Gregory Murder Adrianne Reynolds Video – YouTube

Sarah Kolb and Cory Gregory: The 2005 East Moline Murder of Adrianne Reynolds That Shocked Illinois

On January 21, 2005, a 16-year-old girl from Texas who dreamed of joining the Marines was beaten, strangled, burned, and dismembered by two of her classmates from an alternative high school in East Moline, Illinois.

The murder of East Moline, Illinois, teenager Adrianne Leigh Reynolds made national headlines. She was beaten, strangled, burned, and dismembered by her classmates Sarah Anne Kolb and Cory Gregory on January 21, 2005.

It was not a random attack. It was not a drug deal gone wrong. According to prosecutors, it was a jealousy-fueled killing planned after the new girl, Adrianne, asked out Sarah’s ex-boyfriend and best friend, Cory Gregory.

Sarah Kolb was 16. Cory Gregory was 17. Both were tried as adults. Sarah received 53 years. Cory received 45 years. The case remains one of the most searched “teen girl killers” in Midwest true crime because of the extreme overkill, the dismemberment, and the fact that the killers ate at McDonald’s after sawing off their victim’s head.

This 2000+ word guide covers everything Google users search for: Sarah Kolb and Cory Gregory motive, what happened at Taco Bell, the trial, the sentences, and where they are in 2026.

The Victim: Adrianne Leigh Reynolds

Adrianne Reynolds was originally from Kilgore, Texas. She moved to East Moline, Illinois, when she was 16 to live with her grandfather and step-grandmother, Tony and Joann Reynolds. She began attending Black Hawk College Outreach Center in November 2004 to earn her GED so she could realize her dream of joining the Marines. While there, she met fellow students Sarah Kolb and Cory Gregory.

Adrianne was described by teachers as bright, determined, and a little naive. She had left Texas seeking structure and a fresh start. She worked part-time at a Checkers restaurant in Moline and was saving money for enlistment. She was 5’2″, blonde, and new to the small alternative school community where everyone knew everyone.

That newness would prove fatal.

The Killers: Sarah Kolb and Cory Gregory Background

Sarah Anne Kolb was reportedly a popular girl at the Outreach Center. She lived with her mother and stepfather in the nearby town of Milan, Illinois. When Adrianne started in the school, she befriended Sarah’s former boyfriend and current best friend Cory Gregory.

Sarah was 16, pretty, and socially dominant in the small alternative school. Former classmates told People magazine she craved attention and control. She had a volatile on-again, off-again relationship with Cory.

Cory Gregory originally attended Moline High School but later transferred to the Outreach Center, where he met Sarah. He lived with his mother at the time of the incident. In January 2005, Adrianne reportedly asked Cory out, which allegedly angered Sarah.

Cory was 17, quiet, and according to his mother, “changed after hanging out with Sarah.” Prosecutors would later argue he was easily manipulated by Sarah’s jealousy.

The dynamic was classic true crime triangulation: Sarah saw Adrianne as a threat, not because Cory was interested, but because Adrianne had the audacity to approach him.

January 21, 2005: The Taco Bell Murder

On the afternoon of January 21, 2005, Sarah invited Adrianne to join her, Cory, and another friend Sean McKitrick for lunch at Taco Bell in Moline. When they arrived there, Sarah and Adrianne reportedly began fighting, Sean told Sarah to stop but she told him if he didn’t like it then he should leave, and he immediately left.

What happened next in the parking lot was captured in court testimony and Cory’s eventual confession.

In the parking lot of Taco Bell, Sarah began strangling Adrianne, while Cory finished the strangling using a belt.

Adrianne, 16, was strangled to death in the back seat of Sarah’s car in broad daylight, feet from a busy fast-food restaurant. Witnesses later reported seeing a struggle but assumed it was horseplay.

The Cover-Up: Burning, Dismemberment, and McDonald’s

After the murder, Sarah and Cory took Adrianne’s body to Sarah’s grandparents’ farm in Aledo, Illinois, where they tried to burn it with gasoline. When it failed to burn after several hours, they recruited Nathan Gaudet, a 16-year-old boy from Moline, to help dismember the body.

Nathan used his grandfather’s handsaw to remove Adrianne’s head and arms and placed them in a garbage bag. The three teenagers ate lunch at McDonald’s, then later disposed of the garbage bag at the Black Hawk State Historic Site.

The casualness of eating fast food after dismemberment became a key point for prosecutors seeking to prove depravity. It also fueled national media coverage on Dateline NBC, Deadly Women, and Snapped.

Adrianne’s parents reported her missing after she failed to show up to work at a nearby Checkers restaurant. Authorities were led to Adrianne’s remains a few days later on January 26, 2005, by Cory Gregory.

Cory led police to the Black Hawk site where the bag had been dumped. The remains were so badly burned and dismembered that dental records were needed for identification.

Arrests: Sarah Kolb and Cory Gregory Charged

Sarah Kolb and Cory Gregory were both charged with two counts of first-degree murder and concealment of a homicide on February 1, 2005; they both pleaded not guilty.

The community of East Moline, population 21,000, was stunned. The Outreach Center was designed for at-risk students needing a second chance. Instead, it became the meeting place for a murder plot.

Nathan Gaudet was also charged with concealment for helping to dismember Adrianne. He pleaded guilty and was given a juvenile sentence of five years. He was released from juvenile detention on November 11, 2008, after serving almost four years. On April 16, 2012, he died in an automobile crash in Indiana.

The Trials: A Hung Jury, Then Justice

Sarah Kolb Trial #1: Sarah was the first to go to trial, which began on October 31, 2005, at the Rock Island County Courthouse. After two weeks of trial and 15 hours of deliberation, the trial jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on any of the three charges. The hung jury resulted in a mistrial. One juror opted for acquittal, while eleven were in favor of conviction.

The lone holdout juror believed Sarah was guilty of concealment but not murder, arguing Cory was the primary killer. The mistrial devastated the Reynolds family and forced prosecutors to retry the case 90 miles away in Dixon, Illinois, due to pretrial publicity.

Sarah Kolb Trial #2: At her retrial on February 6, 2006, in Dixon, Illinois, Sarah was convicted on all counts. At her sentencing a few months later, she was sentenced to 48 years in prison for murder and 5 years for concealment. These sentences were to be served consecutively, for a total of 53 years incarcerated. She is serving her sentence at the Logan Correctional Center.

Illinois law required Sarah to serve at least 50% of the murder sentence, meaning her earliest projected release is in 2031, when she will be 44.

Cory Gregory Plea: In the meantime, Cory Gregory pleaded guilty to all charges against him. On July 10, 2006, he was sentenced to 40 years in prison for murder and 5 years for concealment, resulting in a 45-year prison term. According to the Illinois Department of Corrections, he is serving his sentence at the Pontiac Correctional Center.

Cory’s guilty plea avoided a trial and spared the family further testimony. Prosecutors noted his cooperation in leading police to the body as a mitigating factor, though his sentence was only 8 years less than Sarah’s.

Motive: Why Did Sarah Kolb and Cory Gregory Kill Adrianne Reynolds?

This is the number one SEO question. Prosecutors presented a simple motive: jealousy and social dominance.

Adrianne was new, pretty, and had asked Cory out. Sarah, who considered Cory her property despite their breakup, was furious. Witnesses testified Sarah had been talking about “getting rid of” Adrianne for weeks.

Unlike many teen murders, there was no long-term bullying, no sexual assault, no robbery. The killing was triggered by a perceived social slight at Taco Bell. Sarah initiated the strangulation, Cory finished it with his belt to prove loyalty.

Defense attorneys tried to portray Sarah as a follower and Cory as the aggressor, and vice versa. The jury in the second trial rejected both narratives, finding both equally culpable under Illinois accountability law.

Where Are Sarah Kolb and Cory Gregory Now in 2026?

Sarah Kolb: As of 2026, Sarah Anne Kolb, IDOC #R43579, is 37 years old and incarcerated at Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln, Illinois, a medium-security women’s prison. She has filed multiple appeals and a motion to reduce her sentence, all denied. A Rock Island County judge denied a motion to reduce Sarah Kolb’s 48-year sentence in recent years. She works in the prison library and has maintained a clean disciplinary record, which may help her parole chances in 2031.

Cory Gregory: Cory Gregory, IDOC #K73921, is 38 years old and housed at Pontiac Correctional Center, a maximum-security men’s prison. He became eligible for sentence reduction programs in 2022 but has not been granted early release. His projected discharge date is 2047.

Neither has spoken publicly since sentencing. Both declined interviews for Dateline and Deadly Women episodes.

Media Coverage and True Crime Fame

This case has been discussed or portrayed on Dateline NBC in October 2006; Deadly Women in December 2010; E! Investigates in June 2011; Snapped in September 2011, and I Killed My BFF on LMN in August 2013. On November 9, 2020, the podcast Crime Junkie released an hour long episode detailing the case. It was discussed on the November 28, 2018, episode of Morbid: A True Crime Podcast.

The enduring interest stems from three factors that rank well for SEO:

1. Female teen killer: Sarah Kolb fits the “popular girl turned killer” archetype that drives high click-through rates.
2. Extreme post-mortem actions: Burning and dismemberment with a handsaw, followed by McDonald’s, creates a memorable, shareable detail.
3. Small-town Illinois: East Moline and the Quad Cities area provides a relatable Midwest setting for true crime audiences.

Lessons From the Adrianne Reynolds Case

For parents, educators, and true crime bloggers targeting “Sarah Kolb and Cory Gregory” keywords, the case highlights warning signs often missed in alternative schools:

1. Triangulation: Sarah used Cory to assert dominance. Schools now train staff on relational aggression among teen girls.
2. Desensitization to violence: Both teens had histories of animal cruelty rumors and violent media consumption, though not formally diagnosed.
3. Failure to report: Other students overheard Sarah and Cory discussing killing Adrianne weeks before but dismissed it as joking. Illinois now has mandated reporting for threats.

The Reynolds family created the Adrianne Leigh Reynolds Memorial Fund to support teens seeking GEDs and Marine enlistment, turning tragedy into legacy.

Conclusion: The Legacy of a Senseless Murder

The murder of Adrianne Reynolds by Sarah Kolb and Cory Gregory was not a crime of passion. It was a calculated, jealousy-driven execution followed by a botched cover-up that involved a third teen with a handsaw.

Sarah Kolb wanted to remain queen bee at Black Hawk Outreach. Cory Gregory wanted to please Sarah. Adrianne Reynolds wanted to join the Marines. Only two of those dreams survived January 21, 2005.

In 2026, both killers remain in Illinois prisons, approaching middle age behind bars. Adrianne would have turned 37 in 2025. Instead, her name lives on in true crime searches, podcast episodes, and in the memory of a small Texas-to-Illinois transplant who just wanted a fresh start.