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Brown's Chicken massacre

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Coordinates: 42°07′22″N 88°02′53″W / 42.12278°N 88.04806°W / 42.12278; -88.04806
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Brown's Chicken massacre
LocationPalatine, Illinois, U.S.
Coordinates42°07′22″N 88°02′53″W / 42.12278°N 88.04806°W / 42.12278; -88.04806
DateJanuary 8, 1993; 31 years ago (1993-01-08)
Attack type
Armed robbery, mass shooting, mass murder
Weapons
Deaths7
PerpetratorsJuan Luna and James Degorski
MotiveRobbery
Witness elimination

The Brown's Chicken massacre was a mass murder that occurred on January 8, 1993, in Palatine, Illinois, when two robbers shot and killed seven employees at a Brown's Chicken fast-food restaurant.

The case remained unsolved for nearly nine years, until one of the assailants was implicated by his girlfriend in 2002. Police used DNA samples from the murder scene to match one of the suspects, Juan Luna. Luna was put on trial in 2007, found guilty of seven counts of first degree murder, and sentenced to life imprisonment. James Degorski, the other assailant, was found guilty in 2009 on all seven counts of first degree murder, and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.

Incident

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On January 8, 1993, seven people were shot and killed at the Brown's Chicken & Pasta at 168 West Northwest Highway in Palatine.[1] The victims included the owners, 50-year-old Richard E. Ehlenfeldt and 49-year-old Lynn A. Ehlenfeldt (née Wiese), and five employees: 46-year-old Guadalupe Maldonado, 16-year-old Michael C. Castro, 17-year-old Rico L. Solis, 32-year-old Thomas Mennes, and 31-year-old Marcus Nellsen; Castro and Solis were Palatine High School students working there part-time.[2] All victims had been killed in two walk-in freezers. Lynn Ehlenfeldt also had her throat slashed before being shot.[3] The assailants stole between $1,800 and $1,900 from the restaurant, equivalent to $3,902 in 2023.[4]

Two of the Ehlenfeldts' daughters were scheduled to be at the restaurant that night, but were not present at the time of the killing. A third daughter, Jennifer, was later elected to the Wisconsin Senate.[5]

Michael Castro's parents called the police a couple hours after closing time.[6] Later, Guadalupe Maldonado's wife also called the police, concerned that her husband did not return home from work and that his car was still in the apparently closed Brown's Chicken parking lot.[6] When officers arrived at the building, they spotted the rear employees' door open. Inside, they found the seven bodies, some face-down, some face-up, in a cooler and in a walk-in refrigerator.[1] When Palatine police found the bodies, it was more than 5½ hours after the 9 p.m. closing.[7]

Perpetrators

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Juan Luna
Born
Juan Antonio Luna Jr.

(1974-02-16) February 16, 1974 (age 50)
Zacatecas, Mexico[8]
NationalityAmerican
Criminal statusIncarcerated
Conviction(s)First degree murder (7 counts)
Criminal penaltyLife imprisonment without parole
Details
DateJanuary 8, 1993
CountryUnited States
Location(s)Palatine, Illinois
Killed7
Date apprehended
May 16, 2002
Imprisoned atStateville Correctional Center

In March 2002, more than nine years after the murders, Anne Lockett came forward and implicated her former boyfriend, James Degorski, and his associate, Juan Luna, in the crime.[9][10] Degorski and Luna had been childhood friends and attended William Fremd High School together. Luna, then aged 18, was a former employee of the restaurant.[9] In April 2002, the Palatine Police Department matched a DNA sample from Luna to a sample of saliva from a piece of partially eaten chicken found in the garbage during the crime scene investigation.[11]

James Degorski
Born
James Eric Degorski

(1972-08-20) August 20, 1972 (age 52)
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Criminal statusIncarcerated
Conviction(s)First degree murder (7 counts)
Criminal penaltyLife imprisonment without parole
Details
DateJanuary 8, 1993
CountryUnited States
Location(s)Palatine, Illinois
Killed7
Date apprehended
May 16, 2002
Imprisoned atStateville Correctional Center

The chicken was kept in a freezer for most of the time since the crime. Testimony at trial indicated it was not frozen for several days after discovery, and was allowed to thaw several times for examination and testing, in the hope of an eventual match via increasingly sophisticated testing methods not available in 1993.[11]

The Palatine Police Department took the two suspects into custody on May 16, 2002.[9] Luna confessed to the crime during an interrogation, though his lawyers later claimed that he was coerced to do so through police brutality and had his family, who were Mexican nationals, threatened with deportation.[1] Degorski also confessed and an audio recording of it played during his trial, although his lawyers similarly contended that the confession was obtained under duress.[12] Both men subsequently went to trial.[9][13][14]

On May 10, 2007, Juan Luna was found guilty of all seven counts of murder.[9][10] He was sentenced to life in prison without parole on May 17.[9] The state sought the death penalty, which was available at the time, but the jury's vote of eleven-to-one in favor of the death penalty fell short of the required unanimity to impose it.[15] In 2019, an action was filed by the U.S. government to revoke Luna's naturalized citizenship, which he had obtained in the time between the murders and his arrest.[16]

On September 29, 2009, James Degorski was found guilty of all seven counts of murder, largely on the testimony of his former girlfriend Anne Lockett and another woman, Eileen Bakalla, who both stated that Degorski separately confessed to them. Luna had also implicated Degorski during his own confession in 2002.[17][18][3] On October 20, 2009, he was sentenced to life in prison without parole. All but two of the jurors voted for the death penalty.[19]

In March 2014, a jury awarded James Degorski $451,000 in compensation and punitive damages after being beaten by a Sheriff's deputy in Cook County Jail in May 2002. He suffered facial fractures that required surgery. The deputy was eventually dismissed.[20][21]

Degorski appealed the verdict in 2016 and 2022, claiming that Luna had been the sole perpetrator and again calling Lockett's testimony uncredible due to her record for psychiatric issues and past drug addiction. In 2016, Degorski also presented a sworn statement by fellow inmate Richard Bilik, whom Lockett had been dating during their own relationship, who alleged that Lockett had repeatedly asked him about the Brown's Chicken murders, after which Des Plaines and Palantine police took him in for questioning; Bilik had been serving a 15 year sentence for arson since 2012. The appeals were denied both times in court.[22][23]

Aftermath

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The Chase Bank branch where the Brown's Chicken restaurant once stood

The incident had an adverse effect on the entire Brown's Chicken franchise. Sales at all restaurants dropped 35 percent within months of the incident, and the company eventually had to close 100 restaurants in the Chicago area.[24]

The building was razed in April 2001,[1] after briefly housing a dry cleaning establishment[25] and then standing vacant for many years. A Chase Bank branch office was constructed at the former Brown's location.[26]

Luna and Degorski are imprisoned at the Stateville Correctional Center.[27]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Sadovi, Carlos (2007-03-28). "Brutal crime finally gets its day in court". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2022-06-26.
  2. ^ Sadovi, Carlos (2007-04-13). "Luna eager for his day in court". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 2009-08-16. Retrieved 2009-08-06.
  3. ^ a b "2nd person convicted in 1993 restaurant slayings". Rockford Register Star. September 29, 2009. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  4. ^ Lee, Henry C.; Labriola, Jerry (2010). Shocking Cases from Dr. Henry Lee's Forensic Files. Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books. p. 97. ISBN 978-1-59102-775-1.
  5. ^ Jungen, Anne. "Shilling to share story of survival after parents killed" La Crosse Tribune January 31, 2011
  6. ^ a b Brunner, J. Terrence (1997). "The Brown's Chicken Massacre". Better Government Association. Archived from the original on 2019-07-05. Retrieved 2010-06-03.
  7. ^ Sander, Libby (2007-04-17). "Murder Trial to Begin in Illinois, 14 Years After 7 Died". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-08-06.
  8. ^ Sadovi, Carlos (2007-04-13). "Luma, family eager for Brown's trial to get undeeway". Chicago Tribune. pp. 1–7. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
  9. ^ a b c d e f Vitello, Barbara (2009-05-05). "Trial set for August in latest Brown's Chicken case". Daily Herald. Retrieved 2009-08-06.
  10. ^ a b "Man Convicted in 1993 Restaurant Killings". The New York Times. May 11, 2007.
  11. ^ a b Selvarn, Ashok (September 29, 2009). "Verdict brings closure to Palatine police officers". Daily Herald. Archived from the original on January 20, 2013. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
  12. ^ "On Tape, Suspect Admits to '93 Massacre". The Oklahoman. September 21, 2007. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  13. ^ Loomis, Brandon. "'They're just people without a soul': Two charged in Palatine murders". Daily Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2020-06-03. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
  14. ^ Wilgoren, Jodi (2002-05-19). "Pair Charged in Killing of 7 In a 1993 Restaurant Robbery". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  15. ^ Sudo, Chuck (2014-03-10). "Man Convicted In Brown's Chicken Murders Awarded $451K Civil Rights Judgment". Chicagoist. Archived from the original on 2017-11-08. Retrieved 2022-06-26.
  16. ^ "United States v. Luna, Case No. 17 CV 1472 | Casetext Search + Citator". CaseText. March 8, 2019.
  17. ^ "Guilty Verdict in Brown's Chicken Trial". NBC Chicago. Sep 29, 2009.
  18. ^ Greiner, Andrew (2009-09-03). "Testimony Reveals Gory Details of Brown's Chicken Murders". NBC Chicago. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  19. ^ Greiner, Deborah (2009-10-20). "Life in Prison for Degorski". NBC. Retrieved 2009-10-30.
  20. ^ "Jury awards Brown's Chicken killer $451K in civil rights case". Chicago Tribune. March 8, 2014.
  21. ^ "Convicted Murderer of 7 Awarded Nearly $500K". ABC News. March 10, 2014. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  22. ^ Schmadeke, Steve (2016-09-08). "Man convicted in 1993 massacre at Brown's Chicken claims new evidence, seeks hearing". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  23. ^ Keeshan, Charles (2022-06-17). "Why an appellate court denied Degorski's latest bid for new trial in Brown's Chicken murders". Daily Herald. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  24. ^ Hussain, Rummana (2009-08-10). "After Brown's Chicken massacre: 'No one came'". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 2009-08-13. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
  25. ^ Byrne, John (August 5, 2009). "Brown's Chicken massacre comes back to haunt Palatine". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
  26. ^ Pohl, Kimberley (2009-10-20). "Former Brown's Chicken site to become Chase Bank". Daily Herald. Retrieved 2009-10-30.
  27. ^ "Offenders". Illinois Department of Corrections. Archived from the original on 2022-02-05. Retrieved 2020-02-25.

Further reading

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  • Possley, Maurice. The Brown's Chicken Massacre, Berkeley, 2003. Paperback, ISBN 0-425-19085-4
  • Shere, Dennis. "The Last Meal: Defending an Accused Mass Murderer," Titletown, 2010. Paperback, ISBN 978-0-9823008-8-6
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