Mother says overdose victim was no friend of homicide defendant

Fran Denofrio wants one thing perfectly clear: her son Brian, she says, was never friends with Brad Jurek, the 26-year-old Bartlett man arraigned Tuesday on a charge of drug-induced homicide in the heroin-related death of Brian Denofrio last April.

According the Denofrio, Jurek "happened to show up" at a get-together Brian attended on April 15 and followed her son as he left. As for what happened next, she says, that's something only the two of them know.

Prosecutors say the men drove to Chicago to buy heroin, which they say Jurek injected into the 27-year-old Denofrio, who was unable to inject himself. After Denofrio passed out, prosecutors say Jurek shoved him into the back seat and drove to a Hanover Park White Castle for food.

"He (Jurek) drove around with him for hours. He watched him die," said Fran Denofrio, adding that Brian had never touched heroin before that night.

Speaking outside the Rolling Meadows courtroom following Tuesday's proceedings, Denofrio said her son, an Elgin resident, had been clean, and that he had enrolled in courses at Elgin Community College.

"He was stable," added family friend Jill Dauel.

If convicted of the Class X felony, Jurek faces 15 to 30 years in prison. He remains in Cook County jail on a $750,000 bond. His next court appearance is Sept. 22.