Teen to be tried as adult in Aurora murder

A boy who was 14 when Marilyn Bethell of Aurora was killed will be tried as an adult, a Kane County judge ruled Friday.

Garang Deng, who will turn 16 today, now faces 45 years to life in prison if convicted of using a handgun in the substance abuse counselor's October 2005 slaying.

If Deng, who committed eight felonies in a four-year span, was tried in juvenile court, he could have been imprisoned only until he turned 21.

"There can be no more serious offense than first-degree murder," Judge Wiley Edmondson said.

Deng bowed his head for portions of the judge's ruling and said something in Arabic to his mother before being taken away in handcuffs.

Relatives of Bethell, who attended several days of the two-week hearing, declined to comment afterward. Deng's mother, stepfather and other friends also had no comment.

Attorneys for Deng, a former Waubonsie Valley High School student, argued the teen had a traumatic childhood in war-torn Sudan and hadn't seen his father since he was 5. They said murder was not consistent with his pattern of stealing from others as a way to fight back against "authority."

A Pennsylvania boot camp that emphasized positive peer reinforcement along with more counseling would be a good alternative for Deng, attorney Raymond Bolden argued this week.

Prosecutor Bob Berlin pointed to Deng's lengthy criminal record of burglaries, car thefts and even threatening a judge when he was 11. They also said he was a gang member who told a psychologist he participated in two drive-by shootings in Aurora. He also was suspended from school after exposing himself on a school bus and fondling a female student.

Edmondson said probation reports showed Deng was a risk to the public before Bethell's murder and repeated stays in youth homes and counseling were of little help.

"Probation in the past has shown to be a useless exercise," the judge said, noting there was no way to predict with "any degree of confidence" that the boot camp would help Deng.

Prosecutors say Deng broke into Bethell's home in late October 2005. Her body was found Dec. 26, 2005, off the Illinois Prairie Path. She was shot in the head.

They say Deng's DNA matches that from semen in a tissue at Bethell's home. They also recovered a rare Russian-made gun from Deng's home, his student ID was found along the Prairie Path Oct. 30, and a pillow recovered from her stolen car had a bullet hole through it.

The next step is for prosecutors to dismiss the juvenile charges and re-file murder charges in adult court. That could happen by Thursday