Trial begins for Bensenville teen accused of killing friend accidentally
On Aug. 8, 2019, two panicked 14-year-old boys called 911 in Bensenville.
"Someone got shot in the head," one of them said. "I think he's dead."
As the operator tried to find out where they were calling from, and whether the victim was breathing, the boys argued. "I told you not to pull it!" one said. The other replied he thought it was "the other gun." "I told you it was loaded ... how could you not know that had a bullet?" his friend retorted.
"Stop arguing with him and start CPR!" the operator commanded.
That 911 recording was played at the first day of a DuPage County juvenile-court trial for a Bensenville boy charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of 13-year-old Hunter Krzysik. The respondent is also charged with reckless conduct and reckless discharge of a firearm.
Judge Brian Jacobs has prohibited the Daily Herald from naming the boy. This is a typical practice in DuPage juvenile court.
Showing guns
Hunter, the two boys and another boy had been hanging out, first at a park and then at an apartment. They played with some Nerf guns.
But then, "I wanted to show them my dad's guns," one of the boys testified. The guns - a revolver, two semi-automatic 1911-style pistols, a shotgun, a rifle and an AK-47 rifle - were stored in bags beneath his parents' bed. He said his father had showed him how to use the guns, and had taken him shooting at a range. Neither of his parents were home at the time.
The boy unloaded the revolver and brought it out to the patio, then one of the pistols.
He put both the guns back in one of the bags, and the other boys came inside. Hunter asked to see the revolver again, so the witness handed it to him, he testified. And as he returned the gun to the bag, he noticed a pistol was missing. "I heard a loud bang, and I saw Hunter on the ground," the witness testified.
Two Bensenville police officers testified that the respondent was crying when they got to the scene, and that they heard him say "I did it. It was my fault. I pulled the trigger."
The trial resumes Thursday afternoon. Prosecutors want to call the fourth boy as a witness, but they told Jacobs the boy's mother has refused to obey a subpoena for herself and the boy and has indicated she doesn't want him to testify.
Hunter's parents were not allowed to attend Wednesday's hearing. Prosecutors intend to ask Jacobs for permission for them to do so on Thursday.