Prosecution turns to former flames
Weeks before four of his family members were murdered, Eric Hanson's ex-fiancee said he gave her a stern warning against talking to his sister.
"He said, 'If I ever find out, you're going to get it,'" Allison Beck, 29, testified Friday. "I asked if that was a threat. He said, 'Yes. It's a fact.'"
Beck said she never admitted the truth to Hanson -- that his sister told her in late August 2005 that he had been stealing from their parents.
Her testimony came on the second day of a quadruple murder trial. Hanson, 31, of Naperville, is charged with killing his parents, Terry and Mary; his sister, Kate; and her husband, Jimmy Tsao.
More Coverage Stories Testimony begins in quadruple murder case [02/01/08] Eric Hanson: 'All I know is, I didn't do it' [01/28/08] How authorities came to charge Eric Hanson [01/27/08] Multimedia Photo Gallery: Hanson trial: Synopsis Photo Gallery: Hanson trial legal team Video: Hanson trial: victims Daily Herald Archives Four in family found slain [09/30/05] Police question victims' relative [10/01/05] Fireplace poker could be crucial piece of puzzle [10/02/05] Relative fighting extradition [10/04/05] Charges loom in quadruple murder case [11/04/05] Suspect set for return to Illinois [11/09/05] Details in quadruple homicide [12/09/05] Death penalty sought in four murders [02/18/06] Alleged threat can be heard [05/18/06] Judge will allow tape in court [05/23/06] Family details get out [06/21/07] The Full Reports Nov. 4 arrest warrant Wisc. extradition request Wisc. arrest warrant Sept. 29 arrest warrant Intimidation charge
The murders were discovered Sept. 29, 2005, in the Tsao home in the upscale White Eagle subdivision on Aurora's far-east side.
Prosecutors argue Hanson killed his own flesh and blood out of greed after an $80,000 credit-card scam in his mother's name unraveled. They'll pursue the death penalty if he is convicted.
Hanson admits stealing, but he denies killing anyone. He is expected to testify that his parents were letting him pay them back without police involvement.
Prosecutors lack a confession and both murder weapons, but they said the financial motive, timeline and other evidence are proof of his guilt. They said a rubber glove with specks of his father's blood was in Eric Hanson's SUV, along with some jewelry belonging to his slain sister and brother-in-law.
Still, despite a bloody scene with four bodies, none of Eric Hanson's fingerprints, shoeprints, hairs, saliva, blood, or trace evidence, such as a coat fiber, were recovered.
Another girlfriend, Christine Undesser, 28, testified Friday that she and Eric Hanson went out for drinks at 7 p.m. that night at the Fox and Hound Pub in Aurora. She said they stayed about two hours, until she became upset that he was flying the next morning to see Beck. He left her Aurora apartment about 10:15 p.m., Undesser said.
Kate, 31, and Jimmy Tsao, 34, were fatally beaten with a blunt-force object in their home, likely at 10:43 p.m. Sept. 28, 2005, the final keystroke on his laptop. Authorities said 57-year-old Terry and Mary, 55, were shot a short time later in their Naperville home, where Eric also lived. The elder couple's bodies were transferred to Kate's nearby home.
The defense argues Hanson went directly home and was sleeping in the basement when his parents were shot. Hanson left for a morning flight to Los Angeles, the defense said, assuming his parents were at work.
Beck testified that Hanson received an emergency call about the grisly Sept. 29 discovery in Aurora while at her home. Beck testified she still was at work, but left early to comfort Eric, who was crying.
Still, as she drove to meet him, Beck said her concern turned into fear. She recalled the earlier alleged threat. So, she pulled over on a random street near her home, parked and called police.
But on cross examination, DuPage County Public Defender Robert Miller noted Beck couldn't have been that frightened of Hanson, since she spent the previous weekend with him for a Chicago wedding and, days later, invited him out to L.A.
Hanson returned to Illinois early the next morning, Sept. 30, 2005. He was arrested before noon near Portage, Wis., 20 miles north of Madison, on his way to visit his other sister in Minnesota.
That sister, Jennifer Williams, had told police Eric threatened to kill Kate Aug. 13 if she told their dad about the thefts. Williams is expected to testify next week.
The trial, before DuPage Circuit Judge Robert Anderson, picks up again Tuesday.
Trial: Ex-fiancee says she was afraid of Hanson