IL - Seven dead in Brown's Chicken Massacre, Palatine, 8 Jan 1993 *Guilty*

This case was big news in 1993, and finally coming to trial right now. I have searched all Chicago newspapers for a message board to discuss this case, however I have not found one. I was hoping CourtTv would feature this case since seven innocent people were execution-style murdered, but I haven't seen anything yet.

Here is a link to our local paper's coverage.

http://www.dailyherald.com/special/brownschicken/index.asp

Brown's murder trial jury set


Tribune staff report
Published April 5, 2007, 8:46 PM CDT
After six days of questioning nearly 150 potential jurors, lawyers in the upcoming Brown's Chicken murder trial completed a panel of 12 jurors on Thursday.

Defense lawyers and prosecutors picked the last four jurors for the trial that is scheduled to begin April 13. Ten men and two women were chosen as regular jurors. Among them were four minorities and at least two immigrants.

Juan Luna, 33, could get the death penalty if convicted of murdering seven people on Jan. 8, 1993, at the Brown's Chicken and Pasta restaurant in Palatine. Luna was charged with co-defendant James Degorski, 34, whose trial date has not been set.

After the last regular jurors were chosen, lawyers picked two alternates and must chose another four alternates from the pool of prospective jurors. Lawyers took the unusual step of individually questioning each juror at a table surrounded by Cook County Circuit Judge Vincent Gaughan, who will oversee the trial, prosecutors, defense lawyers and Luna.

The potential jurors were quizzed on their stance on the death penalty and whether they could put aside what they had read and heard about the high-profile case.

Among the last four jurors chosen was a man who admitted being a former drug dealer from Palatine who was convicted of possession with intent to deliver marijuana 15 years ago. The three others selected Thursday were a former Navy sailor and community policing volunteer, a fire-sprinkler installer and an engineer.

The two alternates picked Thursday were a female African-American flight attendant and a Hispanic man who is a shipping and receiving manager for a suburban company.

Jury selection is expected to continue on Monday. The trial is expected to last four weeks.

That is just horrific. Those poor people and their families...what a senseless waste of life.

Blessings Websleuths. This crime happened in 1993, in my home town. Finally some peace can start to heal the victims.

love, Cassata


Guilty verdict in Brown's Chicken massacre


By Carlos Sadovi and Azam Ahmed
Tribune staff reporters
Published May 10, 2007, 7:41 PM CDT
A Cook County jury on Thursday deliberated for about 8 hours before finding Juan Luna guilty of the brutal slayings of seven people at the Brown's Chicken and Pasta restaurant in Palatine in 1993, one of the worst mass murders in Illinois history.

Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan said the jurors will convene Monday morning for the death penalty phase of the case.


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March 23, 2007





As the verdict was read, several of the victims' family members had their hands clasped together in prayer and silently wept.

Luna, 33, was found guilty on all counts for the murders of restaurant owners Lynn, 49, and Richard, 50, Ehlenfeldt; and employees Tom Mennes, 32; Marcus Nellsen, 31; Michael Castro, 16; Guadalupe Maldonado, 46; and Rico Solis, 17.

Among key evidence that prosecutors had against Luna, was a detailed 43-minute videotaped confession, DNA evidence found on several chicken bones and testimony by two former high school friends who implicated Luna and co-defendant James Degorski, 34, who is awaiting trial.

The defense had argued that Luna's May 17, 2002 confession was coerced and that police bungled the investigation over nine years, including losing evidence.

After the verdict was read, Luna's mother collapsed in the courtroom and deputies cleared the room while paramedics rushed to her aid. Details on her condition were not immediately available.

Earlier, during the reading of the verdict, one juror wept while others appeared more resolute. Luna breathed heavily and bowed his head several times and removed his glasses more than once to wipe his eyes with a white napkin.

In the gallery, deputies were ringed around the audience after Gaughan had earlier warned that there would be arrests for any outbursts following the verdict.

Jennifer Shilling, one of the Ehlenfeldt's three daughters, said in a prepared statement that this year would have been her parents' 43rd anniversary of their marriage. Shilling said she was happy Luna was convicted, but that it was not closure.

"The wait is over. We have waited days, weeks, months and years and today the long agonizing wait is over but today is not a day of celebration, " Shilling said.

"For my sisters … and myself it has left a deep scar on our lives from which we will never completely recover," she said.

"With Juan Luna being found guilty of the murder of our parents [and the other victims] we as family can finally exhale from this long and emotional nightmare," Shilling said.

Meanwhile, Jessica Nellsen, the daughter of Marcus Nellsen, said: "This is what he deserves. … I've grown up without a Dad since I was 5. This can't bring back my childhood."

Marcus Nellsen's mother, Diane Clayton, said the verdict will never bring closure because it won't bring her son back.

She said she wants Luna to be sentenced to death because "that's what my son got."

csadovi@tribune.com

aahmed@tribune.com



Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune

Thank you for the update. I had started reading about this case on another thread long ago. Glad the jury was able to do the right thing.

GUILTY! THANK GOD

Luna guilty, penalty phase to begin
Nearly 14 years ago, Juan Luna walked into the Palatine Brown’s Chicken intending to “do something big.”He did just that, a jury concluded Thursday in a courtroom packed with seven weeping families and more than a dozen reporters.As the first “guilty” rose from a court clerk’s throat, Luna swallowed hard, took a deep breath and then removed his glasses to ...

here is the link to the full coverage...You may have to register to view ithttp://www.dailyherald.com/story.asp?id=311764

ETA-I hope this scum sucking B#@!rd gets the Death penalty...

If anyone does not want to register at the daily herald web site, PM me and I will allow you to use my password.

just heard life without parole.....

Cubby said:

just heard life without parole.....

Click to expand...

I am sorry but I really think that lwop is WAY to good for that guy.

gidget641 said:

I am sorry but I really think that lwop is WAY to good for that guy.

Click to expand...

I agree, but will take it if BOTH perps are found guilty...... awaiting the next trial.

James Degorski was just found guilty of all 7 murders after just 2 hours of deliberation by the jury. Thankfully, this means that the men responsible for this senseless crime will pay for the lives that they took.

Sorry, I just noticed this thread.

Saved pics:
http://s296.photobucket.com/albums/mm166/crankycrankerson/Browns Chicken Massacre/

A verdict as been reached in the penalty phase - James Degorski was just sentenced to life in prison.

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/10/degorski-prosecutors-to-jury-sentence-him-to-death.html

Damn. Well the trial chapter is over, finally.

The Daily Herald has had very good coverage:
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=330289

For shooting to death seven people in 1993, James Degorski will spend the rest of his own life in prison, a Cook County jury determined today.
The six men and six women who convicted Degorski on Sept. 29 of the infamous slayings at a Brown's Chicken & Pasta restaurant in Palatine deliberated for about five hours before coming to a decision on the sentence.
In the Chicago courtroom of Judge Vincent M. Gaughan - the same place accomplice Juan Luna was convicted in 2007 and also given life in prison for the slayings - Degorski appeared unemotional during the reading of his sentence.
He could have been sentenced to death.
Degorski's mother, who pleaded for his son's life on the witness stand and recounted his alleged child abuse at the hands of his father, told reporters shortly after the verdict that she felt for the victims' families.
"I appreciate the jury's decision," she said. "My heart goes out to what the families of the victims have been through this whole trial. I appreciate how kind and carrying they have been."
The decision brings a close to a vicious murder that shocked the nation when seven bodies were found in a walk-in freezer and cooler at the fast food restaurant on the night of Jan. 8, 1993.
The crime went unsolved for nearly a decade before police received a phone call from the friend of Degorski's ex-girlfriend. All along the murderers were local misfit teenagers who were out to "do something big," jurors in both trials determined.

Prepare to be outraged.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...vil-rights-case-20140308,0,4913458,full.story

Jury awards Brown's Chicken killer $451K in civil rights case

A federal jury awarded a man serving a life-sentence for the 1993 massacre of seven workers at a Brown’s Chicken restaurant in suburban Palatine nearly a half-million dollars in his civil rights lawsuit against a former Cook County Jail guard accused of beating him in 2002.

When told by the Tribune Saturday of the jury's decision in favor of James Degorski the day before, the families of the victims expressed outrage.

“The first thought is, 'it kind of feels like a slap in the face,'“ said Dana Sampson, 42. “It’s just very disheartening.”

Her parents Richard and Lynn Ehlenfeldt owned the restaurant and were shot to death along with five employees on Jan. 8, 1993, in one of the most gruesome and infamous mass killings in the Chicago area. All seven victims were found the next day in the restaurant’s cooler and freezer. Degorski and Juan Luna were charged with the murders in 2002. Luna was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 2007; Degorski in 2009.

Degorski’s attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, said the jury’s decision in U.S. District Court in Chicago protects the constitutional rights of everyone.

Here is a corrected link.

Browns Chicken Massacre Case Archive:
http://s296.photobucket.com/user/crankycrankerson/library/#/user/crankycrankerson/library/Browns%20Chicken%20Massacre%20%20-IL-?sort=6&page=1&_suid=139437669640704191274054815132

Mass murders have become commonplace now (sadly) but when this happened, it was a huge shock to the whole region.

AmandaReckonwith said:

Prepare to be outraged.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...vil-rights-case-20140308,0,4913458,full.story

Jury awards Brown's Chicken killer $451K in civil rights case

A federal jury awarded a man serving a life-sentence for the 1993 massacre of seven workers at a Brown’s Chicken restaurant in suburban Palatine nearly a half-million dollars in his civil rights lawsuit against a former Cook County Jail guard accused of beating him in 2002.

When told by the Tribune Saturday of the jury's decision in favor of James Degorski the day before, the families of the victims expressed outrage.

“The first thought is, 'it kind of feels like a slap in the face,'“ said Dana Sampson, 42. “It’s just very disheartening.”

Her parents Richard and Lynn Ehlenfeldt owned the restaurant and were shot to death along with five employees on Jan. 8, 1993, in one of the most gruesome and infamous mass killings in the Chicago area. All seven victims were found the next day in the restaurant’s cooler and freezer. Degorski and Juan Luna were charged with the murders in 2002. Luna was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 2007; Degorski in 2009.

Degorski’s attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, said the jury’s decision in U.S. District Court in Chicago protects the constitutional rights of everyone.

Click to expand...

Aaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrgh!!!! :banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead:

The only good thing about this is that the DOC might be able to recover some of the money.


http://www.myfoxchicago.com/story/27362475/cook-county-to-pay-200k-to-browns-chicken-killer

CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) - One of the Brown's Chicken killers may be getting more than $200,000 from Cook County.

A Cook County jail guard punched James Degorski in the face when he was booked back in 2002.
He suffered broken bones, sued for damages, and now the Sun-Times says the county has cut him a check.
But state corrections will likely ask for some of the money to cover his prison upkeep.

http://lacrossetribune.com/news/loc...cle_58ddbe3d-b7a9-507a-9197-285d9b203fcb.html

Family tragedy could have turned her inward, away from public service. Instead, she moved forward with resolve and toughness... Her parents were among the seven victims of a mass murder at the fast-food restaurant they owned in suburban Palatine, Ill...

“My parents cast a very long shadow, a positive shadow over our lives,” Shilling said, as she wiped away tears. “We had been a very happy nuclear family. Our parents came to our soccer games, our school events and concerts. And suddenly our foundation was just rocked.”

It was after her first week on the job in Meyer’s office that Shilling was hit with the devastating news. She was in La Crosse when family friends called and told her, “Your parents are gone.” The experience of that moment and the years that followed would be unimaginable, Shilling said. But, in a way, she said, her parents gave her and her sisters “tremendous skills we didn’t even know we had. The coping skills to be able to get through that. The importance of serving others and volunteering and empathy that was instilled in us. The importance of faith.”

Click to expand...

AmandaReckonwith said:

Prepare to be outraged.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...vil-rights-case-20140308,0,4913458,full.story

Jury awards Brown's Chicken killer $451K in civil rights case

A federal jury awarded a man serving a life-sentence for the 1993 massacre of seven workers at a Brown’s Chicken restaurant in suburban Palatine nearly a half-million dollars in his civil rights lawsuit against a former Cook County Jail guard accused of beating him in 2002.

When told by the Tribune Saturday of the jury's decision in favor of James Degorski the day before, the families of the victims expressed outrage.

“The first thought is, 'it kind of feels like a slap in the face,'“ said Dana Sampson, 42. “It’s just very disheartening.”

Her parents Richard and Lynn Ehlenfeldt owned the restaurant and were shot to death along with five employees on Jan. 8, 1993, in one of the most gruesome and infamous mass killings in the Chicago area. All seven victims were found the next day in the restaurant’s cooler and freezer. Degorski and Juan Luna were charged with the murders in 2002. Luna was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 2007; Degorski in 2009.

Degorski’s attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, said the jury’s decision in U.S. District Court in Chicago protects the constitutional rights of everyone.

Click to expand...

Because he committed a crime, the police should be allowed to beat him? He won't see a dime of the money. I don't understand the logic of he committed a crime, therefore the police are allowed to beat him with impunity? That's wrong! I am quite sure he won't see a dime of that money, and he's in jail for life. He will.never walk freely again, that's punishment enough.