Brown's Chicken massacre
Encyclopedia
The Brown's Chicken massacre was a mass murder
that occurred at a Brown's Chicken restaurant
in Palatine
, Illinois
, a northwest suburb of Chicago
, in the United States
in 1993. The massacre
occurred on January 8, 1993, when two assailants robbed the Brown's Chicken restaurant and then proceeded to murder seven employees. 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 for seven counts of murder, and sentenced to life imprisonment
. James Degorski, the other assailant, was found guilty in 2009 on all seven counts of murder, and also sentenced to life imprisonment
. Also killed were five employees: Guadalupe Maldonado, 46, of Palatine, via Mexico, the cook; Michael C. Castro, 16, and Rico L. Solis, 17, both Palatine High School
students working there part-time; and Palatine residents Thomas Mennes, 32, and Marcus Nellsen, 31. The assailants stole less than $2,000 from the restaurant.
When Palatine police found the bodies, it was more than 5½ hours after the 9 p.m. closing. Michael Castro's parents called the police a couple hours after closing time. Later, Guadalupe Maldonado's wife called police, concerned that her husband had not returned home from work and that his car was still in the apparently closed Brown's Chicken parking lot. When officers arrived at the building, they spotted the rear, employees' door open. Inside, they found the seven bodies, some face down, in a cooler and in a walk-in refrigerator
.
The building no longer exists. It was razed in April 2001, after housing a dry cleaning
establishment and a deli, then standing vacant for several years with its dark windows marked with Xs. A Chase
branch office is located at the former Brown's location.
sample from one suspect and matched it to a sample of saliva from a piece of partially eaten chicken found in the garbage during the crime scene investigation. 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.
The Palatine Police Department took the two suspects, one of them a former employee of the restaurant, into custody on May 16, 2002. Luna confessed to the crime during an interrogation, though his lawyers would later claim that he was coerced to do so through corporal punishment
and threats of deportation
. The pair, who met at Palatine's William Fremd High School
, subsequently went to trial.
On May 10, 2007, Juan Luna was found guilty of all seven counts of murder. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole on May 17. All but one juror had voted for the death penalty for Luna, but in Illinois the vote must be unanimous, so Luna was spared the death penalty.
On September 29, 2009 James Degorski was found guilty of all seven counts of murder. On October 20, 2009 he was sentenced to life in prison without parole. All but two of the jurors had voted for the death penalty.
Mass murder
Mass murder is the act of murdering a large number of people , typically at the same time or over a relatively short period of time. According to the FBI, mass murder is defined as four or more murders occurring during a particular event with no cooling-off period between the murders...
that occurred at a Brown's Chicken restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
in Palatine
Palatine, Illinois
Palatine is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is a northwestern residential suburb of Chicago. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 65,479, making it the sixth-largest community in Cook County and the 16th-largest in the state of Illinois at that time...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, a northwest suburb of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1993. The massacre
Massacre
A massacre is an event with a heavy death toll.Massacre may also refer to:-Entertainment:*Massacre , a DC Comics villain*Massacre , a 1932 drama film starring Richard Barthelmess*Massacre, a 1956 Western starring Dane Clark...
occurred on January 8, 1993, when two assailants robbed the Brown's Chicken restaurant and then proceeded to murder seven employees. 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 for seven counts of murder, and sentenced to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
. James Degorski, the other assailant, was found guilty in 2009 on all seven counts of murder, and also sentenced to life imprisonment
Background
On January 8, 1993, seven people were murdered at the Brown's Chicken and Pasta at 168 W. Northwest Highway in Palatine. The victims included the owners, Richard E. Ehlenfeldt, 50, and his wife, Lynn W Ehlenfeldt, 49, of Arlington Heights, IllinoisArlington Heights, Illinois
Arlington Heights is a village in Cook and Lake counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. A suburb of Chicago, it lies about 25 miles northwest of the city's downtown. The population was 75,101 at the 2010 census....
. Also killed were five employees: Guadalupe Maldonado, 46, of Palatine, via Mexico, the cook; Michael C. Castro, 16, and Rico L. Solis, 17, both Palatine High School
Palatine High School
Palatine High School, or PHS, is a public four-year high school in Township High School District 211. Located at 1111 N. Rohlwing Rd in Palatine, Illinois, United States, a northwest suburb of Chicago...
students working there part-time; and Palatine residents Thomas Mennes, 32, and Marcus Nellsen, 31. The assailants stole less than $2,000 from the restaurant.
When Palatine police found the bodies, it was more than 5½ hours after the 9 p.m. closing. Michael Castro's parents called the police a couple hours after closing time. Later, Guadalupe Maldonado's wife called police, concerned that her husband had not returned home from work and that his car was still in the apparently closed Brown's Chicken parking lot. When officers arrived at the building, they spotted the rear, employees' door open. Inside, they found the seven bodies, some face down, in a cooler and in a walk-in refrigerator
Refrigerator
A refrigerator is a common household appliance that consists of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump that transfers heat from the inside of the fridge to its external environment so that the inside of the fridge is cooled to a temperature below the ambient temperature of the room...
.
The building no longer exists. It was razed in April 2001, after housing a dry cleaning
Dry cleaning
Dry cleaning is any cleaning process for clothing and textiles using a chemical solvent other than water. The solvent used is typically tetrachloroethylene , abbreviated "perc" in the industry and "dry-cleaning fluid" by the public...
establishment and a deli, then standing vacant for several years with its dark windows marked with Xs. A Chase
Chase (bank)
JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., doing business as Chase, is a national bank that constitutes the consumer and commercial banking subsidiary of financial services firm JPMorgan Chase. The bank was known as Chase Manhattan Bank until it merged with J.P. Morgan & Co. in 2000...
branch office is located at the former Brown's location.
Recent history
In March 2002, more than nine years after the murders, Anne Lockett implicated her former boyfriend, James Degorski, and his associate, Juan Luna, in the crime. In April 2002, the Palatine Police Department obtained a DNADNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
sample from one suspect and matched it to a sample of saliva from a piece of partially eaten chicken found in the garbage during the crime scene investigation. 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.
The Palatine Police Department took the two suspects, one of them a former employee of the restaurant, into custody on May 16, 2002. Luna confessed to the crime during an interrogation, though his lawyers would later claim that he was coerced to do so through corporal punishment
Corporal punishment
Corporal punishment is a form of physical punishment that involves the deliberate infliction of pain as retribution for an offence, or for the purpose of disciplining or reforming a wrongdoer, or to deter attitudes or behaviour deemed unacceptable...
and threats of deportation
Deportation
Deportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...
. The pair, who met at Palatine's William Fremd High School
William Fremd High School
William Fremd High School, or Fremd, is a public four-year high school located in Palatine, Illinois, a northwest suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is part of Township High School District 211, which also includes James B...
, subsequently went to trial.
On May 10, 2007, Juan Luna was found guilty of all seven counts of murder. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole on May 17. All but one juror had voted for the death penalty for Luna, but in Illinois the vote must be unanimous, so Luna was spared the death penalty.
On September 29, 2009 James Degorski was found guilty of all seven counts of murder. On October 20, 2009 he was sentenced to life in prison without parole. All but two of the jurors had voted for the death penalty.
Further reading
- Possley, Maurice. The Brown's Chicken Massacre, Berkeley, 2003. Paperback, ISBN 0425190854