McHenry Co. man denies concealing murder

A man accused of hiding the suspected murder of a McHenry County teen more than five years ago formally pleaded not guilty to the charge this morning.

Robert Render, 22, asked for a jury trial on the charge of concealing a homicidal death linked to the December 2002 disappearance and presumed murder of Brian Carrick, a 17-year-old Johnsburg resident last seen at the grocery store where both worked.

The charge, a Class 3 felony, alleges that Render concealed Carrick's death while knowing that the teen had died "by homicidal means."

Asked about the case outside of court Thursday, Render said, "All I can say is that it's [expletive deleted] that I'm even here." He and his attorney declined further comment.

Court documents list Render as living in McHenry, but in an affidavit he filled out July 19 to obtain a public defender, he states that he is living in Antioch with his fiancee. In the same affidavit, Render states that he is unemployed, has no source of income or any savings.

He is the second former Carrick co-worker charged in connection with the teen's disappearance after he worked a night shift as a stock boy at Val's Foods in Johnsburg. Investigators found drops of Carrick's blood in the store, but there has been no other trace of him since.

Carrick's former supervisor, Mario Casciaro, faces eight counts of perjury alleging he made false statements to a McHenry County grand jury investigating what happened to the teen. The charges allege that Casciaro, 25, of McHenry, lied when he testified to the grand jury he never told anyone he knew how Carrick died or where his body was hidden.

Casciaro has pleaded not guilty.

Render, who is free after posting a $4,000 bond, is scheduled to return to court Sept. 11 for a pretrial status hearing.