Round Lake Beach man appealing conviction for killing romantic rival

Lawyers for a Round Lake Beach man sentenced to 78 years in prison for murdering a romantic rival began the appeals process Friday, seeking to overturn Kenneth Seplak's conviction.

Seplak, 40, was convicted of first-degree murder in June for the fatal shooting of David Gorski on Dec. 23, 2016. Authorities said Seplak shot Gorski on Milwaukee Avenue after the 30-year-old Libertyville man had gone to the movies with a woman Seplak wanted to date.

Steve McCollum, one of Seplak's lawyers, asked Lake County Judge Mark Levitt Friday to allow the case to be considered by the Illinois 2nd District Appellate Court in Elgin. If the appellate court rules in favor of Seplak, his case would be retried in Lake County.

Seplak defense attorney Dan Hodgkinson said shortly after the jury trial in June that the defense team believed errors had been made during the trial.

At the sentencing in September, Levitt described Seplak as an "exceptionally dangerous man" and said he'd never seen an act so senseless.

"In addition to destroying your life, you destroyed two families who had nothing to do with this," Levitt told Seplak, referring to the Gorski family and Seplak's parents.

McCollum said Friday he expects it to be several months before the case goes before appellate judges.