Juan Luna

Case details

Juan Luna was convicted of killing seven people in the Brown’s Chicken massacre in Palatine, Illinois on January 8, 1993. Luna killed the two owners and five employees, then left their bodies in the store's freezer.

Luna was charged with first degree murder and armed robbery upon his May 2002 arrests. He was found guilty on all seven counts on May 10, 2007. On May 18, 2007, a jury decided against the death penalty, and Luna received life in prison without parole.

Timeline

• January 8, 1993 — Juan Luna killed seven people at Brown’s Chicken & Pasta in Palatine, Illinois, and left the bodies in the store’s freezer.
• May 2002 — Juan Luna and James Degorski were arrested; Luna was charged with first degree murder and armed robbery.
• April 13, 2007 — Luna’s trial started in Cook County Criminal Court.
• April 17, 2007 — Eileen Bakalla testified for the prosecution.
• April 19, 2007 — Forensic expert John Onstwedder III testified about a dime-size print from a Brown’s napkin at the crime scene.
• April 24, 2007 — Anne Lockett testified, describing events and details she said Luna and Degorski told her.
• April 25, 2007 — Twelve jurors heard details in Luna’s taped confession.
• May 10, 2007 — Luna was found guilty on all seven counts.
• May 17, 2007 — The jury deliberated for two hours and voted overwhelmingly for the death penalty, with one holdout.
• May 18, 2007 — Luna was sentenced to life in prison without parole after the death penalty vote was not unanimous.

Background

The Brown’s Chicken massacre was named for victims who were shot or stabbed and left inside two walk-in refrigerators at Brown’s Chicken and Pasta restaurant in Palatine.

Mayor Rita Mullins finished her first term when the slayings occurred. She said many years of investigation tested the patience of victims’ families, investigators, and Palatine’s residents. She also said people did look side to side, wondering who could have done this.

Juan Luna had worked at the restaurant until a few months before the slayings, and he was one of 300 current and former employees interviewed and cleared not long after the killings.

Judge Vincent M. Gaughan barred lawyers from speaking to the news media outside the courtroom.

The offence

On the night of January 8, 1993, Juan Luna and James Degorski entered Brown’s around 9 p.m. intending to rob it after it closed. Investigators said the two shared a chicken dinner, then slipped on latex gloves and herded the couple who owned Brown’s and five employees to the rear of the restaurant, then into the two refrigeration units. Less than $2,000 was taken.

Five victims were found in one walk-in cooler at the restaurant, and two were found in another. Some had been shot several times, and the throat of one was slit.

In Luna’s videotaped confession, he described the violence as beginning with an armed stickup-man yelling: "Everybody down on the floor. This is a holdup!" Luna later described the scene as getting "all wild and crazy."

Investigation

The case remained unsolved for years, and thousands of leads failed to bring investigators a break.

The authorities announced the arrests in May 2002, more than 14 years after the killings. A former girlfriend of James Degorski came forward with details that investigators said only someone linked directly to it could have known. She told investigators she waited nine years because Degorski had threatened to kill her if she revealed what he told her about that night.

Prosecutors said evidence included:

• DNA found on partially-eaten pieces of chicken found at the crime scene, with some pieces not linked to Luna through DNA technology at the time of the crime but able to be linked with more sophisticated means now
• a palm print that experts said matched Luna
• a videotaped confession by Luna
• DNA tests prosecutors said linked the remains of the suspects’ partly eaten chicken dinner retrieved from a trash can to saliva samples obtained from the men a few weeks before their arrests

Defense counsel indicated they would try to discredit the DNA analysis by arguing that the test results were not conclusive and that the chicken dinner was mishandled.

Forensic expert John Onstwedder III testified that a dime-size print below the little finger lifted from a Brown’s napkin at the crime scene was Luna’s.

The Brown’s Chicken franchise never reopened, and the building was torn down in 2001. There was talk for a time of erecting a memorial to the victims, but the idea faded, and the corner became a parking lot for a Eurofresh Market.

Arrest

Juan Luna and James Degorski were arrested in May 2002.

They pleaded not guilty.

They were held without bail in Cook County Jail. Degorski would be tried after Luna.

Trial

Charges and plea

Luna faced the death penalty if found guilty.

Luna and Degorski pleaded not guilty.

Evidence presented

Twelve jurors heard details in Luna’s taped confession on April 25, 2007. Luna’s trial started April 13, 2007.

Prosecutors presented DNA evidence and a videotaped confession.

The jury questioned the accuracy of testimony from Anne Lockett and Eileen Bakalla as less important than the DNA evidence because jurors said they were "doing too many drugs." Juror John Polishak said this at sentencing coverage.

Luna’s taped confession and quotations

Luna’s videotaped confession was taped May 17, 2002 at the Hoffman Estates Police Department. During the confession, Luna told two detectives and a felony supervisor for the Cook County State's Attorney that he and Degorski entered the restaurant at Northwest Highway and Smith minutes after the 9 p.m. closing.

Luna said he ordered a four-piece chicken dinner and explained he knew there were no alarms, he knew about the backroom safe, when more money might be in the safe, no guards, and when less customers would be present.

Luna said he opened the entrance door with a sweater draped over his hand to avoid leaving fingerprints. He said both men donned latex gloves under the table booth and upon Degorski's order: "Let's do it" and walked to the front counter and cash registers where Degorski announced the crime.

Luna described how he saw Tom Mennes, 32, jump over the counter trying to escape when Degorski shot him in the back. Luna said Mennes shouted: "Ow, I've been shot," and Degorski dragged him into a westside walk-in freezer in the building. Luna said he then heard Degorski telling another person to "Get up." Luna described more shots fired and Degorski pulling owner Richard Ehlenfeldt, 50, alongside Mennes, still dressed in a white kitchen apron, sprawled on the floor next to a storage shelf.

Luna said he was watching over four workers and Ehlenfeldt's wife, Lynn Ehlenfeldt, 49, all facing downward on the floor near another walk-in cooler. Luna said on the tape: "My job was to make sure no one ran." Luna said Degorski was the designated "aggressor" in the holdup.

Luna said Degorski reloaded the silver .38-caliber revolver and ordered three people into the freezer. Luna recalled that employee Marcus Nellsen ran for a rear door behind Luna. Luna said he demonstrated for investigators how he took a karate stance and pushed Nellsen back toward Degorski. Luna said: "Jim hit him in the head with the gun in his hand. (Nellsen) was drowsy and his feet were wobbly. We put him in the freezer," and that at that point the scene got "all wild and crazy."

Luna said he was armed with a knife and told Lynn Ehlenfeldt to open the two-door safe. Luna said: "She was very scared. Hands trembling. She stuck the key in the safe and opened it. I said to turn around and I cut her throat," and that he drew a pen across his throat for investigators. Luna said: "I guess I just got caught up in it and cut her throat," and: "She was laying on the floor. She started gargling and ran out of breath," then described himself as bowing his head in the white-cinder block room, breathing in heavily, and running his hand up through his hair several times.

Luna described Degorski dragging Ehlenfeldt into the east freezer and herding the remaining employees inside. Luna said Degorski told him to fire a warning shot into the room. Luna said: "They were yelling, 'Don't shoot us. Please, don't shoot us.' Their hands were shaking."

Luna said that after mopping up the floor for blood, Degorski returned to the freezer, opened the freezer door, and Luna heard rapid shots. Luna said: "I heard rapid shots. A pause, then bam, bam, bam again," and added that Degorski kicked the bodies to make sure they were dead. Luna said he shut off the circuit breaker lights, locked the doors, and he and Degorski left.

Luna said: "I was so shook up and scared. (Degorski) drove my car to Carpentersville," and that at the tape's conclusion assistant Cook County State's Attorney Darren O'Brien asked him how he felt.

Luna said: "Well, I know I can't change time no more, and I can't bring people back. I feel so sad, and I'm so sorry," and his voice was described as cracking.

Witness testimony and quotations

Anne Lockett

Anne Lockett testified about information she said she knew and said she told three friends, leading to arrests in May 2002.

In testimony and quoted statements reported during the trial:

• Lockett said: "I saw the Brown's Chicken murders on TV. Later, my Mom brought me news articles to the hospital about the murders. I read them and later threw them out."
• Lockett said: "I began to feel bad, but I also had a fear of being killed."
• Lockett said: "The guilt I had in knowing who had done these things outweighed my fear, but I owed it to the families."
• Lockett said she entered a mental hospital on Jan. 7 after trying to kill herself with an overdose of NyQuil and was released on Jan. 25.
• Lockett testified that she met Luna and Degorski in Degorski's basement bedroom in Hoffman Estates. She testified they told her of wearing old clothes and shoes they later threw out, filling their pockets with bullets for a silver .38-caliber revolver, and wedging the restaurant door shut with an object to prevent employees from escaping.
• Lockett testified they "walked funny" through snow to avoid footprint identification and they put on rubber latex gloves in the bathroom.
• Lockett testified Degorski grew angry with his friend for ordering chicken that she said may have left greasy fingerprints.

Lockett testified about a dime-size print and about the victims:

• Lockett testified that Degorski and Luna told her both shot the victims.
• Lockett testified that Luna described how he slit the throat of Lynn Ehlenfeldt, 49, of Arlington Heights.
• Lockett testified the Ehlenfeldts owned the eatery at Northwest Highway and Smith Street.

In retelling the alleged robbery and murder, Lockett said: "Juan was physically into it -- animated. Jim just sat on his bed, telling me the story."

Lockett testified they later threw the revolver into the Fox River either in Carpentersville or Algonquin.

Lockett testified that Jim said: 'If you tell anyone, I will kill you,'.

During cross-examination, defense attorney Clarence Burch asked her about her relationship before the alleged crime. Lockett said: "He was very abusive, but he never threatened to kill me before Brown's Chicken (murders)."

Lockett testified that she was an admitted drug and alcohol user since her teens. She said she often smoked marijuana and drank alcohol with Degorski and Luna. She said she told the court the friends' drug abuse grew to cocaine, PCP and LSD.

Lockett said she dated Degorski from 1992 to 1994 after they met while students at Fremd High School in Palatine.

Burch questioned Lockett on memory loss due to her drug and alcohol abuse. Lockett said complete loss occurred occasionally during "blackouts" from drinking alcohol.

Lockett said she told Burch she never planned on telling anyone of the crimes, stating: "I had my life threatened." She said: "He killed seven, why not eight?"

Lockett also said she had her life threatened and that she told Burch she never planned on telling anyone due to what she said were threats.

Eileen Bakalla

Eileen Bakalla testified for the prosecution on April 17, 2007.

Bakalla testified that on the night of the murders she punched out from her job at Jake's Pizza in Streamwood and drove to Carpentersville to meet both men at a Jewel parking lot.

Bakalla testified they then drove in her vehicle to her town house where they smoked marijuana.

Bakalla testified that Luna and Degorski told her they had robbed Brown's Chicken and that she saw a canvas bag containing about $1,000.

Sentencing

Luna was convicted on May 10, 2007, on all seven counts.

At sentencing, the jury voted overwhelmingly for the death penalty but could not impose it because Illinois law required a unanimous jury vote.

The decision that day left Luna to be sentenced to life in prison without parole. The jury deliberated for two hours before reaching its decision.

Coverage described:

• Eleven of the jurors who convicted Juan Luna voted to sentence him to death, and one juror held out.
• Jurors said the holdout was the same woman who initially balked before the panel voted unanimously last week to convict Luna of murdering seven workers at the Palatine fast-food restaurant during a robbery.
• Jurors declined to identify the holdout.

Juror Tim Beltran said: "We didn’t gang up on her because that’s not right," and: "You don’t want to force her into anything."

Juror John Polishak said: "Everybody has a decision and you can't force anybody," and: "They have to live with that decision for the rest of their lives." Polishak said it was "a little frustrating" that the sentence reflected only one person's opinion, and said: "We discussed the pros and cons," and that: "We took a few (votes)," and that: "It wasn't easy."

Polishak also said: "They have to live with that decision for the rest of their lives." Polishak said: "We never pressured anybody." He also said jurors "weren't surprised" that one juror opposed the death sentence for Luna because of "prior deliberations."

Polishak said: "We came by that decision by the facts and the evidence and the law," and: "It wasn't easy." He said: "The DNA was key. That placed Juan Luna at Brown's Chicken that night." He said the jury viewed the evidence as "solid." Polishak said: "We were such a close group, everything was discussed, everything was in the open. We never pressured anybody."

Polishak said the jury started the trial with the premise "Juan Luna was innocent and the state had to prove him guilty."

Polishak said: "None of us wanted to be on this jury, but we did get picked." He said: "We exchanged e-mails, the people that wanted to. We never forced anything on anybody." He apologized for being emotional and said: "It has been hard. ... I haven't slept for the past two days. None of us have been sleeping for weeks. We took a lot of time being here." Polishak said: "It was a great learning experience. It taught me a lot of patience, which I don't have a lot of." He said: "I would never want to do it again." Polishak said he expected he and other jurors would be "definitely going to be following (alleged accomplice James) Degorski's trial."

Outcome

Juan Luna was found guilty on May 10, 2007, of murdering seven people in the Brown’s Chicken massacre. On May 18, 2007, he was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Victims

Luna was convicted of murdering seven people, including:

• Michael Castro, 16
• Richard Ehlenfeldt, 50
• Lynn Ehlenfeldt, 49
• Guadalupe Maldonado, 47
• Thomas Mennes, 32
• Marcus Nellsen, 31
• Rico Solis, 17

Other details

Jury deliberation and family reactions

The reception was silent as the sentence was read in the packed courtroom.

Juan Luna turned to his defense attorney Stephen Richards after the sentence and the men bear-hugged one another for several seconds.

Clarence Burch bowed his head and whispered an apparent prayer.

Jorge Luna said: "I don't think anyone should ever die including my brother."

Diane Clayton, mother of victim Marcus Nellsen, said: "Not when seven people were brutally killed. This cannot be justice. My son deserved better than this. The other six victims deserved better than this," and she spoke to reporters through tears.

Clayton said she would continue to honor her son's memory by thinking about him every day, stating: "You have to go on, but you never forget," and: "I realize the death penalty would never bring my son back."

Richard and Lynn Ehlenfeldt's three daughters received the jury's decision with blank expressions.

Outside the courtroom, Jennifer Ehlenfeldt Shilling said: "It's an insult to us that he and his family proclaimed his innocence," and: "Until they admit Juan Luna's guilt, their prayers are of little comfort." She said: "We hope both Juan Luna and his family will accept his guilt and his role in these horrible crimes and that they accept responsibility for his actions," and: "We're exhausted, we're spent."

Shilling said her family was relieved the trial had ended so they could get back to living normal lives and said: "We're exhausted, we're spent."

Identified associates

James Degorski was described as Luna’s charged accomplice. Degorski pleaded not guilty and faced the death penalty if found guilty.

Sentence-related participants

Stephen Richards defended Luna.

Clarence Burch was described as lead defense attorney.

Richard A. Devine was described as the Cook County state’s attorney who prosecuted the case himself.

Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney Darren O'Brien asked Luna how he felt at the conclusion of the confession.

Victim count and case framing

Luna was convicted for killing seven workers at the Palatine Brown’s Chicken & Pasta restaurant during a robbery.