Deng wants to undo guilty plea in Bethell murder

An Aurora teen convicted of murdering a Hoffman Estates substance abuse counselor wants to undo his guilty plea, claiming he didn't know he would have to serve the full 35-year prison sentence to which he agreed.

In a July 17 letter to Kane County Associate Judge Allen M. Anderson, Garang P. Deng, 17, blames his attorney for his decision to plead guilty to the kidnapping and "execution-style" shooting death of 47-year-old Marilyn Bethell of Aurora on Halloween 2005.

Deng, who was 14 at the time of the slaying, was sentenced in May to 35 years behind bars after admitting to a charge of first-degree murder. A petition to withdraw the plea was filed six days later.

"I was under the impression that I would get this sentence and could apply for it to be reduce(d) and my request would be granted," he wrote in the typed letter mailed from a state prison in downstate Menard. "I was not told I would be doing 100 percent of my time."

Deng also accuses his attorney of withholding information related to his case, including witness statements, and of putting him and his mother, both Sudanese immigrants with limited English skills, in a "position to be totally dependent on him."

"When I pled guilty and the judge was asking me if anybody promised me anything, I gave all the answers I was supposed to give," Deng wrote. "I was expected to give answers that go along with the judge say and not cause any trouble."

Deng's attorney, Eric Mitchell, did not respond to a request for comment.

A former Waubonsie Valley High School student, Deng did not know Bethell, but lived about a mile away from her. Authorities said he targeted her home on the 2500 block of Quail Court for a break-in on Oct. 31, 2005, but ended up kidnapping her at gunpoint. Bethell's body was found shot "execution-style" two months later in a wooded area along the Illinois Prairie Path in Batavia Township.

Among the evidence against Deng was a list of sexually explicit Web sites that had been visited on Bethell's home computer the day she went missing and a tissue containing Deng's semen nearby, according to prosecutors.

Authorities say forensic evidence suggested Bethell was shot in the back of the head shortly after her disappearance. Coroner's officials were unable to determine whether Bethell, a recently-certified substance abuse counselor, was sexually assaulted.

The state's attorney's office declined to comment on Deng's appeal, which came within the legal time frame for such filings but still must receive the court's approval.

Deng returns to court Sept. 16.