Man wants interviews suppressed

Nearly three years after an Addison man was accused of killing his mother and a prostitute, his taped confession was played Thursday for the first time in court even as he fought to have his words suppressed.

Gary Schuning, 25, may face the death penalty if he is convicted of the Feb. 26, 2006, double-stabbing murders. His trial is set to begin March 24.

Police rushed to his former house at 316 S. Yale Street when the prostitute's pimp called 911 after he said she made a panicked call to him for help. The call came too late. Police arrived to find both women slain. Schuning also was injured, but police said his stab wounds were self-inflicted.

Schuning told the first officers to arrive that the prostitute, Kristi Hoenig, 21, killed his mother, Doris Pagliaro, 40, then attacked him with a knife before he was able to overpower the escort in self-defense. But police didn't buy the story.

Addison Det. Sean Gilhooley and Sgt. Brian Goss interviewed Schuning Feb. 27 and 28th at the hospital, as well as a third time March 7 at the police station. They confronted Schuning with Hoenig's last words - as told by the pimp. He said she called in a panic after finding a bloody knife in a bathroom. He said the prostitute said: "What's that in your hand? Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" The phone went dead.

On the tapes, Schuning admits he fatally stabbed his mother after pushing her down a flight of stairs. He said the two argued when he returned home after a night of partying and snorting cocaine.

"I don't know why or how it happened," Schuning said through tears in his second interview. "This is not me. I would do anything for her."

In court, Schuning covered his face while listening to the exchange. As the interview continues, he admits using his mother's credit to buy two prostitutes. One woman left uninjured after sex. But Schuning admitted killing the second escort, Hoenig, after she confronted him.

On Aug. 14, his defense team filed a motion to suppress the incriminating statements. They argue Schuning, who was heavily medicated and had just gotten out of a drug-induced coma, was in no condition to voluntarily waive his right to counsel.

Furthermore, they allege police ignored repeated requests after the first interview for a lawyer while they used leading questions and confrontation tactics to garner a confession.

The court hearing before Circuit Judge John Kinsella didn't end Thursday. Schuning remains in jail.