Darien man guilty of first-degree murder in 2012 slaying
A 36-year-old Darien man accused of nearly beheading his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend was convicted Friday of first-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping.
The six-member jury deliberated for nearly three hours before determining that Joseph Spitalli knew he would seriously injure or kill 31-year-old Skokie resident Teymur Huseynli when he slashed the man's throat, all the way through to his spine, with a 5-inch serrated kitchen knife in the overnight hours of Nov. 16 and 17, 2012.
"(Spitalli) is nothing more than a coldblooded killer who killed (Huseyni) in the most cowardly act possible as he came from behind, put the knife to his neck and slashed it," Assistant State's Attorney Mike Fisher said in closing arguments. "And that notch in (Huseynli's) spinal cord represents the pure hatred by (Spitalli) for Teymur Huseynli."
Assistant Public Defender Mark Lyon, however, argued for the jury to find Spitalli guilty of involuntary manslaughter and unlawful restraint. Lyon said there is no question Spitalli killed Huseynli that night, but he was reckless in disregarding the chance his actions could cause serious harm or kill Huseynli.
"Joseph Spitalli was telling police the truth when he said he didn't intend to kill him," Lyon said. "This was no accident. It is involuntary manslaughter."
After the verdict, Spitalli's ex-girlfriend, Kristina Baltrimaviciene, who witnessed the slaying, thanked prosecutors and the justice system for giving her some closure.
"I would like to thank the jurors for doing a great job. I only wish that Joseph will experience the same pain and suffering that he has caused for the families of Teymur and myself," she said. "Now I have only one wish, that he spends rest of his life in jail, without the chance of parole, so he can never do this to anyone else."
Baltrimaviciene, 30, testified earlier this week that she and Huseynli were leaving her apartment on the 7700 block of Wildwood Court in Darien, late in the night of Nov. 16, 2012. Spitalli, whom she had lived with earlier in the year, appeared from the darkness demanding money.
She said she told him she had no money and not to cause any problems. After a brief pushing match between the men, Spitalli departed.
But, Baltrimaviciene said, he quickly reappeared.
"I turned around and (Spitalli) wrapped his arms around (Huseynli's) neck. I raised my hand up and felt a sharp pain in my fingers," she testified through a Lithuanian interpreter. "I felt hot blood hit me and I told (Huseynli) to run. He ran toward the front of the building and fell down."
At that point, she saw Spitalli holding the kitchen knife that had cut her.
"I started screaming, but he told me to shut up or he was going to kill me, and he pulled me to his car," she said. "He said he was now going to kill both of us, but I told him, 'I have a child. You have a child. Think about that.'"
Baltrimaviciene said Spitalli drove around Darien for more than an hour, holding the knife, before she persuaded him to "get rid of it" near the intersection of 91st Street and Clarendon Hills Road in Darien.
After ditching the knife, she said she promised Spitalli that if he spared her, she would tell authorities whatever he wanted. Spitalli then devised a story that she and Huseynli were attacked by "two black men who jumped from the bushes" and that she ran to his home, which they previously shared, for help.
Spitalli then took her to his parents home on the 8S060 block of Washington Street, near Darien, where they told Spitalli's parents the story, and Spitalli's father called 911.
It was while she sat on Spitalli's parents' couch, being treated for the cut to her hand, that she said she whispered to a Darien paramedic, "He killed him."
The paramedic testified he stepped outside and relayed the information to police.
After having her hand washed and bandaged, Baltrimaviciene asked to step outside to "get some fresh air," at which time she relayed more information to another paramedic and asked to be hidden in a locked ambulance as officers went back into the home to talk to Spitalli.
In a series of videotaped interviews on Nov. 17, 2012, Spitalli changed his story at least three times before admitting he killed Huseynli.
DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a written statement that Spitalli attempted to avoid taking responsibility for the murder from the very beginning.
"He lied, threatened and even tried to pin the murder on his former girlfriend and eyewitness to the murder," Berlin wrote. "When none of these tactics worked, Mr. Spitalli then claimed Teymur Huseynli's death was an accident. Thankfully, the jury saw this case for what it was - first-degree murder."
Spitalli's next court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 3, for filing of post-trial motions and return of the pre-sentence report. At sentencing Spitalli faces a possible term of natural life in prison without the possibility of parole.