Youth full of crime, prosecutors say
In mid-October of 2002, an 11-year-old from Aurora was before a juvenile judge, facing a nine-day youth home sentence for a burglary charge.
Instead of expressing remorse or empathy for the victim, the boy lashed out. "I'm going to kill you," the boy told the judge, according to testimony Tuesday from Thomas Burke, senior intensive probation officer with DuPage County.
Prosecutors want to try the boy -- who turns 16 next month -- in adult court in the murder of Marilyn Bethell, a 47-year-old substance abuse counselor from Aurora who worked in Hoffman Estates.
Bethell disappeared in October 2005. Her home was broken into and her car stolen. Her body was discovered Dec. 26, 2005, near the Illinois Prairie Path in Kane County. She was shot in the head.
Tuesday was the second day of a hearing to move the case out of juvenile court. If convicted as an adult, the former Waubonsie Valley High School student would face 45 to 60 years behind bars. If convicted as a juvenile, the Sudanese immigrant could be released from a juvenile facility when he turns 21.
Prosecutors have outlined physical evidence -- a DNA match, the youth's student ID, a rare Russian pistol and a pillow with a bullet hole in it -- they say links him to the murder.
Defense attorney Raymond Bolden on Friday will call witnesses to show the teen, who hasn't seen his father since he was 5, should remain in juvenile court.
Burke summarized a cycle of burglaries, stolen vehicle charges, batteries and other offenses the teen had committed as a juvenile. Of the 11 offenses, eight were felonies.
The teen was repeatedly sentenced to probation, home detention with a monitoring device or more time in a youth home. During some sentences, when he was supposed to be at home, he would be picked up for another crime.
Burke testified that on March 2, 2004, he met with the teen and his mom at their home and everything seemed fine. His grades were up and the monitoring device removed two days before the visit.
After Burke left, he said the teen stuffed clothes under his blankets to make it look like he was in bed when his mother checked on him. The teen was charged the next day with possession of a stolen vehicle and eluding police.
Burke said the boy has exhausted all the services offered by DuPage County and state officials. He was eventually referred to an Illinois Department of Corrections juvenile facility, which is a rare step for DuPage authorities, Burke testified. The teen was released in two months, and Burke recalled him being taller, more mature and "streetwise."
"He was more sophisticated in his gang knowledge," Burke recalled. "He admitted he had become a full gang member while in the Illinois Department of Corrections."
Burke said the boy did well for short stretches during probation and counseling, but always reverted back to criminal behavior. Numerous sentencing reports classified him as a "high risk" to re-offend.
Prosecutors from DuPage and Kane counties are working on the case.