Brown's Chicken Trial Begins

Jury selection is scheduled to begin this week
for the second of two trials in the 1993 slayings of seven people
at a Brown's Chicken restaurant in suburban Chicago

Investigators got a break in 2002 when the former girlfriend of
James Degorski came forward to implicate him and his high school
friend, Juan Luna, in the crime. A jury convicted Luna after a
four-week trial in May 2007, and he was sentenced to life in
prison. Degorski's trial is set to start Thursday

Prosecutors haven't indicated they have physical evidence
against Degorski. Defense attorneys have fought, so far
unsuccessfully, to exclude his videotaped statement.

The killings known as the "Brown's Chicken Massacre" stunned
the suburb of Palatine and stymied investigators for nearly a
decade

 When prosecutors won a conviction in 2007 against
a man accused of slaughtering seven people at a suburban fast food
restaurant 14 years earlier, they had a videotaped confession, DNA
and fingerprint evidence to prove their case.

Gearing up for the trial of his co-defendant two years later,
they have fewer tools at their disposal.

The killings that became known as the "Brown's Chicken
Massacre" stunned the quiet bedroom community of Palatine and
stymied investigators for nearly a decade. Investigators got their
break in 2002 when the former girlfriend of James Degorski came
forward to implicate him and his high school friend, Juan Luna, in
the crime, telling them details that had not been revealed in the
case.

 A jury convicted Luna after a four-week trial in May 2007, and
he was sentenced to life in prison. Jury selection is scheduled to
begin Thursday for Degorski's trial.

The bodies of the victims -- restaurant owners Richard and Lynn
Ehlenfeldt, and employees Michael Castro, 16, Guadalupe Maldonado,
46, Thomas Mennes, 32, Marcus Nellsen, 31, and Rico Solis, 17,
were found in a walk-in freezer and a cooler early on Jan. 9, 1993.

 Authorities have said a carefully planned robbery was the motive
for the killings. The killers, who netted less than $2,000, wore
latex gloves and left no witnesses. It was ultimately a discarded
chicken dinner that became their undoing.

Investigators were able to trace DNA on the chicken dinner as
well as a palm print at the scene to Luna.

In a 43-minute videotaped confession, Luna said he and Degorski
planned to rob the restaurant because it was an easy target with
little security. Luna, who was 18 at the time, was a former
employee.

Luna said he and Degorski entered the restaurant shortly before
closing that Friday night, and Luna ordered dinner as they waited
for employees to lock up. Luna said Degorski ordered him to watch
Lynn Ehlenfeldt, and he admits that he "got caught up in it" and
cut her throat. But he said Degorski shot and killed everyone else.

Prosecutors haven't indicated they have physical evidence
against Degorski, and defense attorneys have fought, so far
unsuccessfully, to exclude his videotaped statement. Even so, Degorski's 4-minute videotaped statement is far less
compelling than Luna's. When asked if he told authorities that he
committed the murders, he answered "Right" but went on to give
mainly one-word answers before refusing to say anything more.

 "It'll be easier just to say it one time -- or say it in court
rather," Degorski said on the tape. "I've already said it. It's
not like I have anything to hide or whatever."

Even with Luna's conviction, a conviction for Degorski isn't a
foregone conclusion, said Daniel Coyne, clinical professor of law
at Chicago-Kent College of Law.
"This is not a conspiracy case," Coyne said. "They are
individually charged in the case, and the evidence has to sustain
the state's burden individually against them.

 And Corey Rayburn Yung, assistant professor at John Marshall Law
School in Chicago, said prosecutors may have to contend with
jurors' distrust of police, especially when it comes to getting
confessions.

 Meanwhile, victims' families say they're looking forward to a
sense of closure that's 16 years overdue.
"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."