Gambler found guilty of murder
Michael J. Calabrese rolled poorly during a dice game at a Carpentersville apartment complex May 1, 2005.
His bid to convince a jury that he didn't kill 25-year-old Edmund Edwards by putting a bullet in his back also came up snake eyes.
A Kane County jury deliberated about four hours Thursday before convicting Calabrese, 27, of Wauconda, of killing Edwards at the Fox View apartment complex.
Calabrese showed no emotion as the verdict was read, but Edwards' mother, Stephanie, and his fiancee, Barbara Nichols, hugged and cried.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty via lethal injection. Judge Philip DiMarzio will determine today whether Calabrese is eligible and then set a final sentencing date.
The last person sentenced to death in Kane County was Luther V. Casteel for killing two and wounding 16 others during a shooting spree at JB's Pub in Elgin in 2001. But his sentence, along with 166 other convicted killers', was later commuted in 2003 by then-Gov. George Ryan.
During Calabrese's trial, witnesses said he was angry because he lost money during the night. Calabrese said he was going to rob the dice game, but no one playing took him seriously until he came back wearing some type of mask and carrying a black revolver.
Edwards, a Chicago Ridge man who was the big winner, refused to turn over his money. Calabrese shot Edwards in the back as he walked away. He was found facedown, clutching $140 in his hand with another $670 in his pocket, police said.
Calabrese was arrested about three weeks later in Kankakee County.
Defense attorney Michael Gillespie pointed to inconsistencies in testimony from three witnesses, who either had long criminal records, were high on marijuana at the time, or changed their stories several times, or a combination of all three. Some said Calabrese had a mask, others said he pulled his hoodie over his head, and one said Calabrese had no mask at all.
Gillespie also noted prosecutors did not produce a murder weapon, mask, DNA or other evidence tying Calabrese to the scene.
Assistant State's Attorney Bill Engerman said any notion of authorities working on a "self-fulfilling prophecy" to convict Calabrese was ridiculous. Engerman noted each witness had known or met Calabrese before the shooting, saw him pull a black revolver, and said that he was angry because he lost money.
Engerman cited an old lawyer adage: "If you're going to prosecute the devil, you won't have angels as witnesses."
If Calabrese does not receive the death penalty, the minimum sentence for murder with a handgun is 45 years and the maximum is 85.
Stephanie Edwards traveled from St. Paul, Minn., to attend the trial. She said she never had a doubt the jury would reach the right decision. "I knew it was going my son's way, I knew it," she said. "I'm glad there's justice for my son."
Nichols and Edwards declined to say whether they preferred Calabrese be put to death or serve a lengthy prison term. "It's in God's hands," Nichols said.