Attorney in 2002 Johnsburg slaying wants DNA, new statements revealed
The defense attorney for Mario Casciaro, who is charged in the 2002 murder of Johnsburg teen Brian Carrick, wants more blood from the crime scene tested for DNA along with the admissibility of statements made by a former state witness that he lied about seeing Casciaro with Carrick the night Carrick disappeared.
The 17-year-old Johnsburg High School senior was last known to be seen the night of Dec. 20, 2002, at a Johnsburg grocery store where he worked; his body has not been found.
Casciaro, 29, of McHenry, was charged in 2010 with first-degree murder, but his trial last February ended with a hung jury.
McHenry County prosecutors have vowed to retry the case, but a July 30 trial date could be delayed if defense attorney Brian Telander doesn't have additional information by then, such as DNA tests from five pieces of bloody cardboard taken from the garbage bin at the now-shuttered Val's Finer Foods, along with additional results from blood found on an exit door at the store.
At the February trial, Shane Lamb, 27, of Lake Bluff, testified that Casciaro called Lamb and wanted the pair to go talk to Carrick. Carrick had been selling marijuana for Casciaro and owed him money.
Lamb, who was facing a 15-year prison term for cocaine charges, cut a deal with prosecutors in exchange for a 6-year term and testimony against Casciaro. Lamb testified that he lost his temper and punched Carrick, who fell backward and hit his head on the concrete floor of a walk-in cooler.
Lamb, who has since been released from prison, said Casciaro told him to leave and that he doesn't know what happened next.
Prosecutors argued that Casciaro wanted Lamb to beat up Carrick and things got out of hand. The state argues that Casciaro is legally responsible for Lamb's actions, which resulted in Carrick's death, even if Casciaro only meant to scare Carrick into paying him the $400 he owed.
Telander also wants additional interviews Lamb had with authorities and also a new statement made by Robert Render, 26, of Johnsburg, who was another grocery store employee in 2002.
Telander said McHenry investigators interviewed Render after the February mistrial and he gave a statement saying he saw Casciaro, Carrick and Lamb in the cooler that night and that Lamb pushed Carrick down. But, Telander, said, Render told authorities last month that he was making up information to get a deal from prosecutors on a different case.
"He admitted that everything he said was a lie," Telander said of Render, whose blood also was found at the scene.
Both sides are next due in court on June 21 before McHenry Judge Sharon Prather.