Brian Dugan

Case record: Brian Dugan

Overview

Brian Dugan (born September 23, 1956) was an American rapist and serial killer active between 1983 and 1985 in Chicago's western suburbs.

Timeline

• February 25, 1983 — 10-year-old Jeanine Nicarico was abducted in broad daylight from her home in Naperville, Illinois.
• February 27, 1983 — Jeanine Nicarico’s body was found six miles from her home.
• July 15, 1984 — Donna Schnorr was beaten and raped after Dugan ran her off the road at a stoplight.
• July 1984 — Donna Schnorr was murdered by drowning her in a quarry.
• April 21, 1974 — Dugan was accused of trying to abduct a 10-year-old girl named Barbara near the Lisle train station.
• May 6, 1985 — Dugan pushed his way into a 21-year-old woman’s car and raped her; she survived.
• May 28, 1985 — Dugan tried but failed to abduct a 19-year-old woman walking along the road.
• May 29, 1985 — A 16-year-old girl was abducted and raped by Dugan after Dugan threatened her with a tire iron.
• May 6, 1985 (crime spree context) — Dugan helped a 21-year-old North Aurora woman start her car, then flashed a hunting knife, gagged and blindfolded her, drove her to Batavia, and raped her in the back seat.
• June 2, 1985 — Melissa Ackerman (7) and her 8-year-old friend Opal Horton were riding bikes in Somonauk, Illinois when they were confronted by Brian Dugan; Opal Horton escaped.
• June 3, 1985 — Dugan was nabbed the day after Melissa’s disappearance for questioning in an unrelated rape.
• Mid-June 1985 (body search timing) — Melissa Ackerman’s body was found several weeks later (and searchers found her body 15 days later).
• May 26, 1985 — Jenny Dugan said Brian called and apologized for trouble he had caused her over the years, a week before Melissa Ackerman’s murder.
• November 19, 1985 — Brian Dugan was sentenced to two life sentences plus 215 years in prison.
• November 11, 2009 — After deliberating about 10 hours over two days, a DuPage County jury sentenced Brian Dugan to death for the rape and murder of Jeanine Nicarico 26 years earlier.
• December 9, 2008 — Brian Dugan was considering pleading guilty to the 1983 murder of Jeanine Nicarico and letting a DuPage County jury decide only if he should get the death penalty.
• November 30, 2005 — Dugan was indicted for the 1983 abduction, rape, and murder of 10-year-old Jeanine Nicarico.
• July 22, 2009 — Dugan pleaded guilty to the kidnapping, rape, and murder of Nicarico.
• December 16, 2009 — The judge imposed the death sentence and set the execution date for February 25, 2010.
• 2011 — Illinois governor Patrick Quinn abolished capital punishment and Dugan’s sentence was commuted to life in prison.

Background

Brian Dugan was born in Nashua, New Hampshire, the second child of James and Genevieve “Jenny” Dugan. He had one sister and three brothers.

According to Brian’s siblings, both James and Jenny Dugan were alcoholics. In 1967, the Dugan family moved to Lisle, Illinois. They later lived in Aurora and Batavia.

The family described Brian’s birth as traumatic. They claimed that a nurse and an intern pushed Brian’s head back inside his mother and strapped her legs together in an attempt to delay his birth. Relatives later questioned if this caused Brian to have brain damage because, as a youth, he suffered severe headaches followed by vomiting and took medication until his teens. He was also a chronic bed wetter, a condition his adult father also suffered from.

At age 8, Brian and a younger brother burned down the family garage. At age 13, Brian poured gasoline on a cat and lit it on fire.

Dugan was accused of trying to abduct a 10-year-old girl named Barbara near the Lisle train station on April 21, 1974; the charges were later dropped on a legal technicality.

Dugan attended Lisle High School and then Aurora East, but he quit at 16. He told the FBI he later obtained a GED in prison.

The offence

Jeanine Nicarico murder (1983)

On February 25, 1983, 10-year-old Jeanine Nicarico (born July 7, 1972) was abducted in broad daylight from her home in Naperville, Illinois. Jeanine was home alone while her parents were at work and her sisters were at school. She was suffering from the flu. Her body was found two days later six miles from her home.

Jeanine had been raped and beaten to death.

Donna Schnorr murder (1984)

On July 15, 1984, Dugan took notice of Donna Schnorr, a 27-year-old nurse from Geneva, Illinois, in her car at a stoplight. He followed her and ran her off the road with his car. After that, he beat and raped her.

Dugan murdered Donna Schnorr by drowning her in a quarry.

Melissa Ackerman and related incidents (1985)

In May 1985, Dugan went on a crime spree that culminated with the murder of Melissa Ackerman, who was 7 years old.

On May 6, 1985, Dugan raped a 21-year-old woman; she survived. He flashed a hunting knife, gagged and blindfolded her, drove her to Batavia, and raped her in the back seat.

On May 28, Dugan tried but failed to abduct a 19-year-old woman who was walking along the road.

On the next day, he abducted and raped a 16-year-old girl after threatening her with a tire iron. He drove her to Will County, wrapped a belt around her neck and raped her, then took her home.

On June 2, 1985, Melissa Ackerman and her 8-year-old friend Opal Horton were riding their bikes in Somonauk, Illinois when they were confronted by Brian Dugan. Dugan grabbed Opal first and threw her in his car, but Opal Horton managed to escape while Dugan was apprehending Melissa. Melissa’s body was found several weeks later (with a separate account stating her body was found 15 days later). Dugan sexually assaulted the child and drowned her.

Investigation

Rolando Cruz, 20-year-old gang member from Aurora, initially came to the attention of police after he fed them false information about the murder in an attempt to claim the $10,000 reward being offered. Police then charged Cruz, along with Alejandro Hernandez and Stephen Buckley, with Jeanine’s rape and murder despite a lack of evidence.

When Melissa Ackerman’s body was found, Dugan was charged with her murder after police linked him through physical evidence found in Dugan’s belongings. A strand of her hair on his sleeping bag linked him to the crime.

Dugan became a suspect after a police officer from a town near Somonauk reported encountering Dugan about the out-of-date vehicle sticker on his car, and Opal Horton was able to give the police a description of Dugan’s vehicle.

Seven DuPage County law enforcement officials, three prosecutors and four deputies were indicted by a grand jury in December 1996 on charges of conspiracy to convict Cruz despite being aware of exculpatory evidence. In June 1999, all seven were acquitted of framing the men.

Several DNA tests since 1988 linked Dugan to the slaying of Jeanine Nicarico. Authorities pursued new testing that confirmed links through a more accurate DNA test reported in 2002.

In 1988, a hair abnormality report that had been gathering dust for 16 years was connected to post-conviction proceedings for Rolando Cruz and Alejandro Hernandez. The proceedings were abandoned in 1988 after the Illinois Supreme Court overturned Cruz and Hernandez’s convictions for other reasons.

Arrest

Dugan was arrested at his job the day following Melissa Ackerman’s murder.

Trial

Cruz, Hernandez, and Buckley trials (Jeanine Nicarico)

Rolando Cruz, Alejandro Hernandez, and Stephen Buckley were indicted in March 1984 for Jeanine Nicarico’s murder. A joint trial was held; in February 1985, Cruz and Hernandez were convicted, but the jury deadlocked on Buckley. The next month, Cruz and Hernandez were sentenced to death.

In 1987, the charges against Buckley were dismissed by a judge.

On January 19, 1988, the Illinois Supreme Court struck down the conviction of Cruz and Hernandez because they did not have separate trials. Both were retried. Cruz was convicted in February 1990. Hernandez’s second trial ended in a hung jury in May 1990; after his third trial, Hernandez was convicted and sentenced to 80 years in prison on May 17, 1991.

Cruz appealed. In December 1992, the Illinois Supreme Court upheld his second conviction, but in May 1993 agreed to rehear the case, and on July 14, 1994 Cruz was ordered a third trial.

The Illinois Appellate Court overturned Hernandez’s second conviction on January 30, 1995. During Cruz’s third trial, a sheriff's lieutenant reversed his testimony. Cruz was acquitted in November 1995. A state investigator was appointed to review the recanted testimony. In December 1995, charges against Hernandez were dismissed by the State’s Attorney.

Sentencing

Dugan sentencing for 1983 murder and other murders

Dugan was already serving life sentences for two murders when a state police investigator first questioned him.

On November 19, 1985, Dugan was sentenced to two life sentences plus 215 years in prison.

In 2009, Dugan pleaded guilty to the kidnapping, rape, and murder of Nicarico and was sentenced to death on November 11, 2009 by a DuPage County jury after deliberations of about 10 hours over two days.

On December 16, 2009, the judge imposed the death sentence for Brian Dugan and set the execution date for February 25, 2010.

After Illinois governor Patrick Quinn abolished capital punishment, Dugan’s sentence was commuted to life in prison in 2011.

Appeals and related legal proceedings

In 1999, seven DuPage County law enforcement officials were acquitted of conspiring to frame Rolando Cruz.

Cruz, Hernandez and Buckley reached a $3.5 million civil settlement with DuPage County for wrongful prosecution on Sept. 26, 2000.

In 2002, Gov. George Ryan granted Cruz a pardon.

Outcome

Dugan remained imprisoned on murder and rape-related convictions and his death sentence was commuted to life after Illinois abolished capital punishment.

Aftermath

Confessions and disputes involving other defendants

In November 1985, while already in jail and being tried for the murder of a seven-year-old girl and a 27-year-old woman, Dugan confessed to the crime through his attorney. Dugan plea-bargained his charges to life imprisonment.

Dugan gave an informal confession to Jeanine Nicarico’s murder in 1985 but wanted to avoid the death penalty. Prosecutors rejected his demand, and he refused to make an official confession. Later, Dugan claimed that he made his confession to take responsibility for the crime and clear Rolando Cruz and Alejandro Hernandez, though Cruz stated that he believed Dugan’s motives were self-serving and had nothing to do with the truth.

Both Cruz and Hernandez were eventually exonerated after evidence and testimony against them was discredited, and the convictions were overturned.

In 2005, prosecutors indicted Dugan for the Nicarico murder. The indictment was 15-count.

Dugan plea negotiations and statements

In December 2008, Steven Greenberg said in court that a sentencing jury could bypass the guilt or innocence phase by proceeding directly to deciding punishment if Dugan pleaded guilty.

Greenberg said: “It is impossible to tell Dugan’s story with talking about the others involved,” and: “He came forward, he cooperated. He didn’t have to. I don’t know if these people would have been executed without him.”

Joseph Birkett argued that the case “had nothing to do with Dugan. That is just an opinion that shouldn’t be heard.”

Dugan offered a statement after his confession about the murders: “It might have been for the sex, but I don't understand why. I wish I knew why I did a lot of things, but I don't.”

After being confronted with crime-scene photographs during the investigation, Dugan said: “I don’t want to look at those pictures, I don’t want to think about that.”

He replied: “I just don’t want to think about that.”

Dugan later said: “I don’t want to die.”

At a later point, Dugan refused to make a formal confession because prosecutors refused to rule out the death penalty in return for a guilty plea.

Mental evaluations and family interviews (FBI material)

Experts recommended protective custody based on descriptions of Dugan as immature, feminine, and “extremely unstable,” with a poor self-image.

Another expert pegged him as a “sensation-addicted” neurotic who drank alcohol and smoked marijuana to lessen his inhibitions before the crimes.

In June 9, 1985 interview material, Jenny Dugan was described as saying she never received thanks for what she was doing, and that through the years it became such a burden she told him he was on his own and that she did not want anything further to do with him.

A June 26, 1985 interview included statements by Hilary Burr about blood found on his silver jacket.

Steven Dugan told agents that Brian was often cruel to family pets and, at 13, claimed he poured gasoline on a cat and lit it on fire. Steven said: “He laughed and thought it was really great,” and he said Brian lost his virginity at 13 and had an affair with an older, married woman. Steven also said Brian tried to molest him once in the bathroom in 1972.

Steven said Brian told him: “If you were in prison, as my brother, you are just another pound of meat. I couldn’t help you. You’d have to make it or break it on your own. You have to submit to it or die.”

An additional claim attributed to Dugan was that he was assaulted at Menard Correctional Center between 1979 and 1982.

Other details

Victims and ages as stated

• Jeanine Nicarico — born July 7, 1972; age 10 at the time of her murder; abducted, raped and beaten to death; body found two days later.
• Donna Schnorr — age 27; nurse from Geneva, Illinois; beaten and raped; drowned in a quarry.
• Melissa Ackerman — age 7; abducted, raped, and drowned; body found several weeks later (and also described as found 15 days later).
• Opal Horton — age 8 at the time of the Melissa incident; escaped.
• 21-year-old woman — raped; survived.
• 19-year-old woman — Dugan tried but failed to abduct; she escaped.
• 16-year-old girl — abducted and raped after being threatened with a tire iron.

People connected to the case

• Rolando Cruz — 20-year-old gang member from Aurora; initially charged with Jeanine’s rape and murder.
• Alejandro Hernandez — charged with Jeanine’s rape and murder.
• Stephen Buckley — charged with Jeanine’s rape and murder; jury deadlocked; charges later dismissed.
• Patrick Quinn — Illinois governor who abolished capital punishment and whose action resulted in commutation to life in prison.
• George Ryan — Governor who granted Cruz a pardon in 2002.
• Ed Cisowski — retired 23-year state police lieutenant who interviewed Dugan multiple times in the mid-1980s and said: “He was cold and matter-of-fact, but never remorseful,” and: “His crimes were impulsive. He was an opportunist who was all about power and control.”
• Ed Cisowski also stated: “Absolutely,” and: “I don’t think he could stop himself.”
• Ed Cisowski identified as investigator who said Dugan confessed in 1985 jailhouse questioning.
• Thomas McCulloch — Dugan’s defense attorney since 1985.
• Joseph Birkett — DuPage County State’s Attorney.
• George Bakalis — DuPage judge mentioned in discussions about pleading guilty.
• Thomas McCulloch said Dugan would “probably enter a plea of not guilty when he's presented to the court.”
• Patricia Nicarico — Jeanine’s mother, who rejected death penalty as “the only sentence that's appropriate. The only way we'll really know.”
• Hilary Burr — Dugan’s sister, who said: “If, in fact, he is given the death penalty, I'd be happy to pull the switch,” and: “He is a cold-blooded killer. I don't think he understands what it means to cause anyone pain or anguish.”
• Hilary Burr also said: “My recurring nightmare is that he would get out of jail,” and: “He really and truly has no respect for life, for joy, for anything good.”

Employment and arrest details as stated

Dugan was arrested shortly after Melissa Ackerman’s disappearance while he worked as a machine operator at Midwest Hydraulics.

One account described Dugan as driving a blue Gremlin and being pulled into custody after his car matched descriptions connected to Melissa’s disappearance.

Indictment specifics

Dugan’s indictment in November 2005 for the 1983 Nicarico abduction, rape, and murder involved a 15-count indictment.

Execution date referenced

A December 16, 2009 sentencing order set an execution date for February 25, 2010.