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Degorski trial set in Brown's case

April 30, 2009. By that date, the families of Michael Castro, Lynn and Richard Ehlenfeldt, Guadalupe Maldonado, Thomas Mennes, Marcus Nellsen and Rico Solis will have waited more than 16 years for the trial of James Degorski, charged with first-degree murder in the 1993 slayings of two owners and five employees of a Palatine Brown's Chicken & Pasta.

It has been a lifetime - literally - the lifetime of 16-year-old Michael Castro, the youngest victim.

Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan set April 30 for the start of jury selection in the trial, which commences nearly one year after the conviction of Degorski's co-defendant Juan Luna, who last year received life in prison for his part in one of the suburbs' most notorious crimes.

The case turned cold and remained so for nine years until Degorski's former girlfriend Anne Lockett came forward in 2002, telling police that shortly after the murders, Degorski called her and told her to watch the TV news, that he "did something big." Later, he told her what happened at the restaurant, Lockett said.

Degorski's trial was to begin in February of this year, but was delayed over several procedural issues, including a dispute over the admissibility of a videotaped confession.

Gaughan had suppressed the tape, ruling that although the police read Degorski his Miranda rights before they questioned him, they did not repeat those rights to him when they videotaped him. Determining that the defendant remained aware of his constitutional rights, the Illinois Appellate Court overruled Gaughan, thus allowing the tape into evidence.

The Illinois Supreme Court upheld the appellate court's ruling. Defense attorneys appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which denied their petition earlier this week.

Attorneys, witnesses and all other participants remain under Gaughan's gag order and were unable to comment on Friday's decision.

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