Tenney convicted for woman's 1993 murder

It took six days of testimony for prosecutors to present their case against Edward Tenney.

It took about six hours of deliberations for a Kane County jury to convict the 48-year-old in the January 1993 slaying of an elderly Aurora Township woman.

Tenney blinked slowly but did not show any emotion after the verdict was read Thursday. He currently is serving a life sentence for the October 1993 murder of dairy heiress Mary Jill Oberweis, who lived down the street from 75-year-old Virginia Johannessen.

Thursday's guilty verdict triggers a mandatory life sentence with no possibility of parole.

Kane County State's Attorney John Barsanti, who worked the case with Jody Gleason, head of the office's criminal division, was pleased with the jury's verdict.

"It was a very difficult trial," said Barsanti, who prosecuted Tenney nearly a decade ago. "I felt that this case was strong."

Tenney was first convicted of Johannessen's murder in 1998 and sentenced to death. His cousin and accomplice, Donald Lippert, testified against Tenney in that case and the Oberweis case and received a reduced sentence of 80 years.

But in 2002, the Illinois Supreme Court overturned the Johannessen verdict, saying Tenney did not receive a fair trial because incriminating statements from another man convicted of the crime, Lionel Lane, were not allowed in court. The guilty verdict against Lane was vacated after Tenney was charged in 1995.

Prosecutors argued that Tenney and a drunken Lippert went to Johannessen's home in early 1993 to rob her. After breaking in a basement window, Lippert, a habitual burglar, got cold feet and Tenney told him to stand watch outside. An unmasked Tenney went inside, shot her in the back of the head and hit her on the forehead with a hammer just to make sure she was dead. The pair then took jewelry and other items before stealing her blue 1984 Oldsmobile Delta 88.

"You've seen the face of a thrill killer -- and that's the face of Edward Tenney," Barsanti said in his closing argument Wednesday.

In 1995, authorities recovered Johannessen's jewelry, 1934 high school ring, and other items from a storage locker Tenney shared with his cousins and uncle.

Tenney did not take the stand in the week-and-a-half-long trial. His attorney, Herbert Hill of Aurora, argued there was no physical evidence such as fingerprints, footprints, a shell casing or clothing fibers that put Tenney at the scene.

Hill argued that Lippert may have robbed Johannessen's home before, that he was drunk and high during the crime, and that his rambling testimony could not be trusted.

"He vacillates like a chameleon," Hill said of Lippert on Wednesday.

During this trial, Lippert frequently said he could not recall events leading up to the murder. At one point, he even got his murders mixed up, saying he and Tenney both shot Johannessen.

Hill said he was disappointed with the verdict and that he created a basis for reasonable doubt. "You can't second guess (the jury) because it's up to them," he said.

Jurors leaving the courthouse declined to comment.

Prosecutors used transcripts from the 1998 trial and an 1995 audio tape from police when Lippert's memory was better. Jurors Wednesday night asked for copies of the 1998 transcripts and to listen to the tape again.

Tenney also is accused of killing and robbing Jerry D. Weber, a 24-year-old father of two, in April 1993, after his van broke down in a field. DuPage County prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty in that case.