| Brown's Chicken massacre | |
|---|---|
| Part of mass shootings in the United States | |
| Location | Palatine, Illinois, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 42°07′22″N 88°02′53″W / 42.12278°N 88.04806°W |
| Date | January 8, 1993 |
Attack type | Armed robbery, mass shooting, mass murder |
| Weapons | Snub-nosed Smith & Wesson Model 60 .38-caliber revolver |
| Deaths | 7 |
| Perpetrators | Juan Luna and James Degorski |
| Motive | Robbery 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.
The incident is one of the two deadliest mass shootings in Illinois history, the other being the 2022 Highland Park parade shooting, which also resulted in the deaths of seven people.
Incident
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, Richard and Lynn Ehlenfeldt, and five employees: Guadalupe Maldonado, Michael C. Castro and Rico L. Solis (Castro and Solis were Palatine High School students working there part-time), Thomas Mennes, and Marcus Nellsen.[2] The assailants stole between $1,800 and $1,900 from the restaurant, equivalent to $3,748 in 2022.[3]
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.[4]
Michael Castro's parents called the police a couple hours after closing time.[5] 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.[5] 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.[6]
Perpetrators
Juan Luna | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 16, 1974 |
| Criminal status | Incarcerated |
| Conviction(s) | First degree murder (7 counts) |
| Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment without parole |
| Details | |
| Date | January 8, 1993 |
| Country | United States |
| Location(s) | Palatine, Illinois |
| Killed | 7 |
Date apprehended | May 16, 2002 |
| Imprisoned at | Stateville 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.[7] Luna, then aged 18, was a former employee of the restaurant.[7] 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.[8]
James Degorski | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 20, 1972 |
| Criminal status | Incarcerated |
| Conviction(s) | First degree murder (7 counts) |
| Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment without parole |
| Details | |
| Date | January 8, 1993 |
| Country | United States |
| Location(s) | Palatine, Illinois |
| Killed | 7 |
Date apprehended | May 16, 2002 |
| Imprisoned at | Stateville 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.[8]
The Palatine Police Department took the two suspects into custody on May 16, 2002.[7] Luna confessed to the crime during an interrogation, though his lawyers later claimed that he was coerced to do so through police brutality and threats of deportation.[1] The pair, who met at Palatine's William Fremd High School, subsequently went to trial.[7][9]
On May 10, 2007, Juan Luna was found guilty of all seven counts of murder.[7] He was sentenced to life in prison without parole on May 17.[7] 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.[10]
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, who both stated that Degorski confessed to them.[11] On October 20, 2009, he was sentenced to life in prison without parole. All but two of the jurors voted for the death penalty.[12]
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.[13]
Aftermath
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.[14]
The building was razed in April 2001,[1] after briefly housing a dry cleaning establishment[15] and then standing vacant for many years. A Chase Bank branch office was constructed at the former Brown's location.[16]
Luna and Degorski are imprisoned at the Stateville Correctional Center.[17]
See also
- List of multiple homicides in Illinois
- Lane Bryant shooting, a similar murder of shoppers and workers on February 2, 2008, in Tinley Park, Illinois
- List of massacres in Illinois
References
- 1 2 3 4 Sadovi, Carlos (2007-03-28). "Brutal crime finally gets its day in court". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2022-06-26.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Jungen, Anne. "Shilling to share story of survival after parents killed" La Crosse Tribune January 31, 2011
- 1 2 Brunner, J. Terrence (1997). "The Brown's Chicken Massacre". Better Government Association. Archived from the original on 2019-07-05. Retrieved 2010-06-03.
- ↑ Sander, Libby (2007-04-17). "Murder Trial to Begin in Illinois, 14 Years After 7 Died". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-08-06.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Vitello, Barbara (2009-05-05). "Trial set for August in latest Brown's Chicken case". Daily Herald. Retrieved 2009-08-06.
- 1 2 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.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "Guilty Verdict in Brown's Chicken Trial". NBC Chicago. Sep 29, 2009.
- ↑ Greiner, Deborah (2009-10-20). "Life in Prison for Degorski". NBC. Retrieved 2009-10-30.
- ↑ "Jury awards Brown's Chicken killer $451K in civil rights case". Chicago Tribune. March 8, 2014.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Byrne, John (August 5, 2009). "Brown's Chicken massacre comes back to haunt Palatine". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
- ↑ Pohl, Kimberley (2009-10-20). "Former Brown's Chicken site to become Chase Bank". Daily Herald. Retrieved 2009-10-30.
- ↑ "Offenders". Illinois Department of Corrections. Archived from the original on 2022-02-05. Retrieved 2020-02-25.