Prosecutors seek death penalty in Lindenhurst murder case

Lake County prosecutors said Wednesday they will seek the death penalty for the man accused of killing a Lindenhurst fast-food restaurant manager.

Deputy State's Attorney Jeff Pavletic said lawyers for James Ealy, 43, failed to convince State's Attorney Michael Waller there were reasons to spare Ealy the ultimate punishment.

"The defendant is eligible for the death penalty because the murder was committed in the course of another felony, a robbery," Pavletic said. "Mr. Waller reviewed all the mitigation information brought forward by the defense and decided this was the appropriate way to proceed."

Ealy is charged with the Nov. 27, 2006, murder of Mary Hutchison during a robbery of the former Burger King restaurant on Route 137 in Lindenhurst. Her body was found at about 5:15 a.m.

Police said Ealy, a former restaurant employee who was on his way home from another job, confronted Hutchison inside the restaurant before its opening.

Hutchison, 45, of Trevor, Wis., was strangled with the bow tie from her uniform and about $1,000 was stolen. Police said they found some of the money in Ealy's apartment in Lake Villa.

Ealy was convicted in Chicago of the 1982 murders of four people and the sexual assault of one of the victims and sentenced to life in prison.

But his conviction was thrown out four years later by an appellate court that found police had acted improperly in detaining Ealy and questioning him about the crime.

Ealy also has convictions for a 1982 rape that occurred before the murders and unlawful restraint and aggravated use of a weapon in 1995.

The decision in the Ealy case means there are two death penalty cases pending in Lake County.

Prosecutors are also seeking capital punishment for Jerry Hobbs III, 46, who is accused of murdering his daughter and another girl in a Zion park on Mother's Day 2005.

Ealy, who is held without bond, is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 15.