Man convicted of killing ex-wife in Gurnee denied new trial

A Lake County judge rejected a bid for a new trial from a Kenosha, Wisconsin, man convicted of murdering his ex-wife at her Gurnee home in 2015.

Lake County circuit court Judge George Strickland ruled against a motion to overturn the conviction of David Brocksom, 47, who is facing from 45 years to life after a jury found him guilty Nov. 15 of home invasion and murder for killing his ex-wife, Beata Brocksom, according to a news release from the Lake County state's attorney's office.

Brocksom is scheduled to be back in court Aug. 30, at which time a sentencing date will be determined.

Prosecutors said Brocksom took his two children to a Wisconsin Dells resort but left and drove to Beata Brocksom's Gurnee home in the early morning hours of Sept. 27, 2015.

Evidence showed David Brocksom entered the home at about 4 a.m. intending to kill his ex-wife while making it appear to be a suicide, prosecutors said.

However, his wife woke up and struggled with him, the release said. Beata Brocksom was shot in the throat during the struggle, but managed to escape the home through a window, according to the evidence. She was found dead several hours later in some bushes on the property.

After the shooting, David Brocksom left the home and drove back to his parents' house in Kenosha. He arranged to have his children picked up from the hotel in the Dells, then turned himself in to Gurnee police.