Prosecutor: Man on trial in slayings of 7 at Ill. restaurant ‘wanted to do something big’

Trial starts for Ill. man accused of killing 7

CHICAGO — A man charged with killing seven people during a robbery at a suburban Chicago fast food restaurant 16 years ago did it because he “wanted to do something big,” not because he needed the money, a prosecutor told jurors Monday.

James Degorski wanted to make “a big splash in the blood of seven innocent victims” when he and high school friend Juan Luna robbed the Brown’s Chicken and Pasta restaurant in Palatine in January 1993 and killed its two owners and five employees, Assistant State’s Attorney Louis Longhitano said during his opening statements at Degorski’s trial.

“Life has a funny way of catching up with you. At the end of this trial, life will catch up to Jim Degorski,” Longhitano said.

But defense attorney Mark Levitt said there is no physical evidence tying Degorski to the killings. Police found the bodies of the seven victims shot, stabbed and stuffed into a freezer and walk-in cooler.

“He was not there. He didn’t do it,” Levitt said. “Over the years memories fade, stories change, but physical evidence does not lie.”

Degorski, 37, is charged with seven counts of first-degree murder and could be sentenced to death if he’s convicted. Dressed in a green shirt and tie Monday, he listened intently to the proceedings.

A jury convicted Luna of murder in 2007 and sentenced him to life in prison. Luna had worked at the restaurant, and he told authorities he thought it would be an easy target at closing time. The robbery netted less than $2,000.

Killed were Richard Ehlenfeldt, 50, his wife Lynn, 49, and five of their employees — Michael Castro, 16; Rico Solis, 17; Marcus Nellsen, 31; Thomas Mennes, 32; Guadalupe Maldonado, 46.

In Luna’s case, prosecutors had physical evidence, including a fingerprint and DNA, and a lengthy videotaped statement in which he implicated himself and Degorski in the killings. But a statement taken from Degorski after his arrest was brief and far less detailed, and prosecutors haven’t indicated that any physical evidence ties him to the crime scene.

Degorski and Luna were arrested in May 2002, after Degorski’s former girlfriend told police that both men confessed about their roles in the crime just after it happened. She and another woman who made the same claim are expected to testify.

Manny Castro, whose son Michael Castro was among those killed in the attack, testified that he became worried when his son did not come home from work, and he called police twice.

The first time, the officers did not go into the restaurant because all the lights were off, Castro said. The second time, about 3 a.m., the officer tried the doors and found one unlocked door and went inside to investigate.

That officer, Ronald Conley, testified Monday that when he and a colleague opened the first cooler inside the restaurant, they found “a mass of humanity, bodies almost piled on top of each other, arms and legs intertwined.”

Jurors got to see that haunting image for themselves during an eerie, 25-minute crime scene video that gave a silent tour of the restaurant as it appeared the morning after the attack.

Testimony was to resume Tuesday morning.

As they did during Luna’s trial, victims’ families crowded the ornate Chicago courtroom of no-nonsense Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan. While some say closure is just one more verdict away, others aren’t so sure.

“I’d like to get it over with so we can get on with our lives,” said Robert Mennes, whose younger brother Thomas was killed. “For me, it’s just a long, long time.”

But Dana Sampson, who lost both of her parents during the ambush of their restaurant, said she isn’t looking for closure.

“I cannot say I’m going to shut the door, then it’s also shutting the door on my parents’ life,” said Sampson, who plans to again travel from her Arizona home to attend the second trial. “I want that door open, I want the memories of them.”