DNA on ski mask fails to link chief suspect to murder
Preliminary results from DNA testing do not link murder suspect Kenneth Smith to a ski mask prosecutors say is connected to the 2001 slaying of Lakemoor businessman Raul Briseno, a defense lawyer said Thursday.
The findings, which also exclude Smith's co-defendants from the mask, could be a setback to McHenry County prosecutors as they prepare to retry the Lake County man on charges he killed Briseno during a botched robbery of the victim's Burrito Express in McHenry.
Instead of connecting Smith to the killing, the Illinois State Police crime lab found saliva on the mask with DNA matching another, still undetermined man.
"Now that we know that another person wore this mask, and not Mr. Smith or any of his co-defendants, we're ready to set a date for trial and have no further delays," Smith attorney Christopher Parente said.
Police recovered the dark ski mask about two months after the March 2001 killing in the laundry of Jennifer McMullan, a Round Lake woman serving 27 years in prison on charges she served as the getaway driver for Smith and co-defendant Justin Houghtaling.
In previous court filings seeking the DNA tests, prosecutors said the mask is significant because it may be the only physical evidence linking Smith and his co-defendants to the murder. And at Smith's trial in 2003, an eyewitness to the murder identified the ski mask as being similar, if not identical, to one worn by two men who entered the restaurant with a gun and tried to rob Briseno.
Assistant McHenry County State's Attorney David Johnston Thursday played down the significance of the preliminary findings, saying authorities are awaiting DNA tests on hairs found inside the mask that could still link Smith to it.
Parente, however, said he does not believe the hair is important in light of the saliva results.
"We don't think the hair matters anymore," he said. "The saliva shows someone wore the mask to get it there. There is other ways the hair could have gotten there."
Smith, 32, of Park City, is scheduled to go to trial Aug. 11 on charges of first-degree murder and attempted armed robbery stemming from the slaying. The charges allege Smith shot Briseno to death as the 35-year-old victim chased him and Houghtaling out of the restaurant with a knife after they tried to rob him.
Smith was sentenced to 67 years in prison in 2003 after a jury found him guilty, but a state appellate court overturned the verdict in 2005, ruling that jurors heard improper evidence. He has remained in custody at the McHenry County jail ever since awaiting a second trial.