Degorski tape aired in court
In the first public airing of his 2002 videotaped statement to police, James Degorski acknowledges a role in the Brown's Chicken murders but refuses to provide any details.
The tape, which was played today in court, begins with former prosecutor Michael McHale saying in an earlier conversation Degorski told police he had killed two people in the cooler of the Palatine fast food restaurant.
Juan Luna -- who was convicted of the murders and sentenced to life imprisonment in May -- shot five others and slit a woman's throat, Degorski reportedly said. In the videotape, Degorski, now 34, confirms his statement.
When reminded he has the right to remain silent and asked if he wants to proceed, Degorski said "not really."
When pressed to definitively continue or stop the interview, Degorski said: "I'd much rather just say it in court."
His statement was made at the Streamwood Police Station more than 24 hours after he was voluntarily taken into custody by police in suburban Indianapolis on May 16, 2002.
The four-minute video contrasts sharply with the 45-minute statement given by Luna earlier that same evening.
In that statement, Luna gives almost a bullet-by-bullet account of what unfolded in the Brown's Chicken restaurant on Jan. 8, 1993. Luna mimics how he slit the throat of restaurant co-owner Lynn Ehlenfeldt.
Defense attorneys contend Degorski's statement was made under duress after more than 24 hours of questioning and law enforcement intimidation.
Also during today's proceeding, a Cook County Jail paramedic testified that Degorski confessed about the killings while she treated him for a fractured jaw. Degorski's jaw was broken by a Cook County Sheriff's Deputy shortly after he was taken into custody at the county jail on May 19.
The paramedic testified that she said: "How do you kill seven people and live like that for nine years?"
She said Degorski responded: "It was just for fun, a thrill."
The hearing on whether to suppress Degorski's statement continues this afternoon.