Did ‘stalker’ label keep Barrington murder suspect from getting a fair trial?

Did testimony describing him as a “stalker” prevent a Barrington man from getting a fair trial in the New Year’s Day 2021 killing of a woman he hoped to marry?

A state appeals court has answered that with an emphatic “no,” unanimously upholding John Breseman’s murder conviction and 58-year prison sentence for the slaying of Christina Czuj.

Authorities said Breseman fatally shot the 54-year-old Sleepy Hollow woman in his pickup truck as he drove along I-90 near South Barrington early Jan. 1, 2021.

Breseman later pulled over at Barrington and Palatine roads in Barrington Hills and called 911 to report a shooting. Officers arrived to find Czuj dead from gunshot wounds to the back of her head and near her collarbone, officials said.

Court documents state the shooting came after the pair had spent New Year’s Eve out together, despite a rocky few months in their relationship. That included: Czuj contacting police three months earlier to report that Breseman was “calling too much,” Breseman calling her cellphone 216 times in the five days before her death, and Czuj texting him “Do not call me again” three days before New Year’s Eve, authorities said.

Breseman — who authorities said called his adult son after the shooting and told him “I killed the woman I love” — later said he acted in self-defense. He testified that Czuj attacked him as they rolled down the interstate at 65 mph. He told a jury that he “did not have time to think” and “just reacted” by pulling a gun from the truck’s center console and shooting Czuj.

The jury found him guilty of first-degree murder.

A key issue in his appeal was the testimony of two witnesses who saw the couple at an Algonquin bar on New Year’s Eve. A bartender told jurors that Czuj whispered to her “that’s not my boyfriend, that’s my stalker” when describing Breseman.

The other witness also testified that Czuj described Breseman as her stalker, and told her, “I will have a good 2021 as long as I don’t have to be with him.”

Breseman’s appeal argued that testimony should have been disallowed because its value as evidence was “substantially outweighed” by the unfair prejudice it caused.

But like the judge who presided over Breseman’s trial, the appellate court ruled the testimony was helpful to jurors deciding what led to the deadly shooting.

“The testimony (of the witnesses) is unquestionably relevant, as they presented a candid view into the nature of Czuj and Breseman’s relationship and helped explain a motive for Breseman shooting and killing Czuj,” Justice Celia Gamrath wrote in the unanimous decision.

Breseman, 54, is not eligible for parole until December 2078, state prison records show.

Who’s to blame?

We still don’t know how ransomware attackers accessed computer system(s) of the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office, the 16th Judicial Circuit and the DuPage County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office. County officials have declined to say how the breach happened.

But Sheriff James Mendrick identified an unexpected culprit: Gov. JB Pritzker.

Mendrick, a Republican who is running for the governor’s office in 2026, said the Democratic governor’s recent tough talk about the GOP coincided with the cyberattack.

“As elected officials, we are responsible for our words. ‘These Republicans cannot know a moment of peace’ and calling for ‘disruption’ are not the words of a civilized leader,” Mendrick wrote.

Mendrick noted that such an attack on the sheriff’s office had never occurred before this week.

“It may all just be a huge coincidence that the governor made these statements and then we were immediately attacked but when irresponsible politicians call for disruptive behavior, and then bad things happen, they should be held accountable.”

We reached out to the governor’s office for a response.

“We don't comment on baseless claims,” Alex Gough, Pritzker’s press secretary, replied in an email.

Democratic DuPage County Board Chairman Deb Conroy called Mendrick’s remarks “completely unwarranted.”

“I would encourage everyone to work together toward a solution rather than attempt to prematurely assign blame,” Conroy said.

The cyberattack occurred about 2:30 a.m., and was accompanied by a note stating that its perpetrators are not a political organization and all they want is money.

For what it’s worth, court clerk Candice Adams is a Democrat, and Chief Judge Bonnie Wheaton is a Republican.

Meanwhile

We asked a county spokesman how much ransom was requested, if the county planned to pay it, why Zoom court sessions were canceled, how many court cases had to be rescheduled, and what’s the status of restoring servers and files.

This was the reply:

“Thanks to extensive planning and preparedness efforts, we have been able to ensure continuity of operations for the residents of DuPage County,” the statement reads. “The DuPage County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management provided back-up telephone and internet service to the Sheriff’s Office early Monday morning. Throughout this event, courtrooms remain open and judicial matters continue to proceed as scheduled as a result of the Circuit Court Clerk’s Office and the 18th Judicial Circuit Court’s ongoing collaboration. DuPage County IT staff have been working around the clock to assist these offices as needed. As this is an active investigation, we are currently unable to answer any questions related to this incident.”

As of Thursday afternoon, parts of the court clerk’s case system, including the public’s ability to look at documents remotely and at the office, remained unavailable.

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