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Court Documents
The trial timeline
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Wednesday, March 28 - Jury selection begins
Potential jurors will be asked to fill out questionnaires about their criminal histories, if any, other encounters with the law (lawsuits or past jury service, for example), their feelings on capital punishment and what, if anything, they have heard about Juan Luna and the murders at the Palatine Brown’s restaurant. They will then be questioned by attorneys on both sides. Attorneys are selecting a jury of 16 - 12 jurors and four alternates.
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Week of April 9 - Opening statements expected
The date of opening statements will depend on how long jury selection takes. During opening statements, each side will spell out what it believes the evidence shows about Luna’s involvement in the murders.
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Prosecution case
Prosecutors are expected to take several weeks presenting evidence against Luna. They will call as witnesses two high school friends who told police nine years after the murders that Luna and Jim Degorski told them their role in the slayings. About 25 percent of the testimony is expected to be about the DNA match prosecutors say they found between Luna and a partially eaten chicken dinner found at the crime scene. Palatine police and other investigators are expected to testify.
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Defense case
Defense attorneys will attempt to show through their own witnesses why prosecutors have charged the wrong man. They claim Luna was not involved in the slayings and may discuss other men who were suspected of the murders during the nine years between the murders and Luna’s arrest.
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Rebuttal case
Prosecutors will call more witnesses. One rebuttal witness may be renowned forensic scientist Dr. Henry Lee, who is known for his work on a number of high-profile criminal cases, including the O.J. Simpson trial and Jon Benet Ramsey murder.
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Closing statements
Closing statements are the final chance for attorneys on both sides to sum up the evidence — that it shows Luna did or did not murder seven people in 1993.
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Jury deliberations
Jurors weigh the evidence and issue a verdict.
• If he is found guilty, sentencing phase begins. Jurors will first decide whether the case is eligible for the death penalty. Then they will decide whether to sentence Luna to life in prison or to death. • If found not guilty, he will be released from Cook County jail, where he is currently held without bond. |
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Source: Daily Herald interviews
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More stories from the trial
Looking back: Horror in Palatine - 1993
01/10/1993
- Horror in Palatine: Murders haunt quiet suburb
- Murders send shock wave rippling throught Eagle Plaza
- Employees at other Brown's struggle with shock of deaths
- Colleagues can expect rough emotional time
- Many co-workers feel spared by fate
- Town finds lesson in scars from '84 massacre
- Chaplains offer solace from storm of tragedy
- Anxious parents question restaurants' security
- Editor recalls his involvement in restaurant holdup in 1981
01/12/1993
- Blake's attorney possesses background in murder cases
- Born: Blake's life turned upside down in last 48 hours
- Dad laments Blake's role as '8th victim'
- Horror gives way to desire to help out
- How Illinois law works in behalf of suspects, police
- Team handles all the facets of mass murder investigation
- Suspect freed, probe continues
- Gray area clouds rights of suspect in custody
01/13/1993
- Investigation may hinge on the tiniest evidence
- What is known about the crime
- Gasior: Families' calls handled as 'routine' incidents
- The worst mass homicides in recent history
- More than one killer sought
- Police have odds with them, but time remains the enemy
- New reports raise question: Was some key investigative time lost?
01/14/1993
01/15/1993
- Palatine, Addison gunmen share similar tendencies
- Palatine police defend efforts to find slaying witnesses
01/16/1993
- Attorney says Blake exonerated in murders
- Police delayed sending crime data over network
- Will trail lead to psychotic killers?
01/17/1993
01/18/1993
1/19/1993
1/23/1993
- CrimeStoppers' reward, billboard added to efforts to solve murders
- Murder probe cost at $50,000 a week
1/24/1993
1/26/1993
1/28/1993
1/30/1993
- Glare of publicity has dimmed, but families' grief strong as ever
- Police say song's description of murder a coincidence
1/31/1993
2/06/1993
- Cash Station users eyed as possible witnesses
- Tab for murder investigation tops $35,700
- Police still tracking more than 100 leads on massacre
2/13/1993
2/24/1993
3/04/1993
4/10/1993
4/23/1993
7/02/1993
7/03/1993
Looking back: Horror in Palatine - 1994
01/07/1994
- The toll on the families
- Pain lives one year after massacre
- Memories of slayings remain for restaurant's co-workers
01/11/1994
2/01/1994
3/22/1994
Looking back: Horror in Palatine - 1996
1/8/1996
1/9/1996
1/10/1996
1/30/1996
4/12/1996
4/23/1996
4/27/1996
8/21/1996
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