Tristan and the newest addition to the family...
CAYDEN TRENT MACDONALD
WELCOME CAYDEN!!!!!
Cayden Trent MacDonald was born on March 20, 2014 on the same day that Scene of the Crime was released.
Scene of the Crime
Palatine, Illinois 1993: Brown’s Chicken was founded by John and Belva Brown. The first restaurant opened up in Bridgeview, Illinois and consisted of the Brown’s selling the chicken from a trailer. The 1960’s and 1970’s saw a great period of growth with Brown’s Chicken franchises opening all over the US. One of these restaurants was in Palatine, Illinois at 168 W. Northwest Highway. With Brown’s Chicken being an American success story, no one could have predicted the dark days that were to come. The events of January 8, 1993 changed everything.
The owners of the Brown’s Chicken franchise in Palatine, 50 year old Richard Ehlenfeldt and his 49 year old wife Lynn were very pleased with their franchise. They had worked hard and now they were enjoying the success of their restaurant. Brown’s Chicken was popular across the country but was an institution in Illinois. Much would change on a cold, winter’s night in January 1993. Both owners were present in the restaurant that night along with five employees. Guadalupe Maldonado,46, was the cook. High school students Michael Castro and Rico Solis were helping out along with 31 year old Marcus Nellson and 32 year old Thomas Mennes.
Richard and Lynn Ehlenfeldt
Guadalupe Maldonado, Rico Solis,
Michael Castro, Thomas Mennes and Marcus Nellsen
At about 7:30pm a Little City Foundation employee decided to bring in two of her clients for a bite. Little City “engages and supports individuals, families and communities with autism and other disabilities to realize their potential.” On this night Debbie Medow picked Brown’s Chicken. Debbie figures they were in the restaurant from about 7:30 to 9pm. She remembers buying a coffee from Lynn as they were leaving and that they appeared to be getting ready to close as the workers were wiping down tables and washing the floor. During the evening and early morning hours the Palatine police received several calls from anxious relatives. Michael Castro’s parents called when their son did not return home from work. Michael always called if he wasn’t coming straight home. At about 11pm Michael’s parents decided to go and look for themselves. When he got to the restaurant a police car was in the parking lot. The cop behind the wheel told the Castro family, “don’t worry about your son, he’ll come home. He’ll be back. He’ll call”. The cop was wrong…Michael didn’t call or come back. The officer did not even get out of his car. If he had checked, he would have found the east employee entrance door open. At 2am, after another call from the Castro family, an officer went to their home and had them fill out a missing person report. After this, the police finally entered the restaurant. What they found once they were inside would haunt the city of Palatine for years to come.
All seven inside the restaurant were dead. Five were in one walk-in freezer and two more in another cooler. Six had been shot to death. One veteran police officer said that the shootings looked like they had been “execution style.” Lynn Ehlenfeldt’s throat had been cut. Attempts had been made by the killers to clean up the scene. A blood-soaked mop lay in one corner. Evidence was gathered which included a partially eaten chicken sandwich. There were very few clues to work with. It would prove to be a very tough case.
Bodies being removed from the crime scene
During the investigation there would be much criticism leveled at the Palatine Police Dept. The Castro family was especially critical, wondering out loud if a faster response to their calls could possibly have saved lives. Michael Castro’s father Emmanuel said, “if someone was still living, gasping for breath, we might have saved his life.” This probably is not true as it appears that all of the victims died quickly. Mr. Castro was left to think that he was not taken seriously “because of our accent, because of our look.” Still, there was no excuse for the police not entering the restaurant much earlier than they did. Several hours before the bodies were discovered the police chased away Pedro Maldonado (the cook’s brother) as he looked through the window of the restaurant. Once again, the officer did not get out of his car.
More than 4,000 tips and leads were followed up and checked but nothing panned out…that is until 2002, nine years after the murders when the police received a phone call. Back in 1993 Anne Lockett was a 17 year old young woman who was dating a 20 year old man named James Degorski. One night Degorski told her of the murders and how he and a friend named Juan Luna had committed them. He also told Anne that he would kill her if she ever told anyone. When explaining why she never came forward Anne said, “he killed seven, why not eight?” Anne kept the secret until 2001 when she told three friends. Her friends convinced her to share the information with the police. In May 2002 Degorski and Luna were arrested and charged with the murders. Luna had worked at Brown’s Chicken until a couple of months before the murders and his knowledge of the routines of the employees was used by the two killers. Juan Luna confessed and gave a chilling account of the murders. The killers had entered the restaurant within minutes of Debbie Medow leaving. Juan Luna ordered a chicken dinner and the sale was rung up at 9:08pm. No one knew at the time but the chicken dinner would play a major role later. The confession included the killing of Lynn Ehlenfeldt. Luna’s words, “she was very scared. Hands trembling. She stuck the key in the safe and opened it. I said to her to turn around and I cut her throat. I guess I just got caught up in it and cut her throat. She was lying on the floor. She started gurgling and just ran out of breath.” The others were herded into the freezer and all were shot multiple times. Luna then shut off the lights and cut the power. The clock was frozen at 9:52pm. The murders had taken 44 minutes. Eileen Bakalla was another friend of both Luna and Degorski. She claimed to have met the two men on the night of the murders and they claimed to have robbed Brown’s Chicken. They conveniently left out the fact about the murders.
Juan Luna in custody
James Degorski
Before the trial began Luna recanted his confession with his lawyers saying that the confession had been coerced. The two men were tried separately with Luna’s trial beginning in April 2007. The prosecutor slipped in his opening statement when he said that the murders occurred in a Burger King. Thankfully it was his only error. When Luna ordered the chicken dinner at 9:08pm on January 8, 1993 just before the murders were committed he couldn’t have known that it would come back to haunt him. The investigators bagged the evidence which, even 14 years later contained Juan Luna’s DNA. This evidence, along with the testimony of Anne Lockett and Eileen Bakalla, was enough to ensure a unanimous guilty verdict on all seven counts of first degree murder. Luna was eligible for the death penalty but one juror saved his life with the vote being 11-1 favoring death. Luna instead received a life sentence without parole. Degorski’s turn would come in 2009. Sixteen years had now passed since the murders. There was less evidence against Degorski then there was against Luna. There was no physical evidence linking him to the crime scene or the murders. There was only the testimony of ex girlfriend Anne Lockett (now married and going by the name of Anne England) and Eileen Bakalla. The prosecution did not introduce Luna’s taped confession. When questioned Anne said, “They did it because Juan wanted to do something big and see what it was like to kill somebody and Jim agreed to help.” She testified that Degorski had told her how Juan Luna and himself had robbed Brown’s Chicken and committed the murders. Only the killer would have had the information that Degorski gave to Anne that night when they were in Jim’s basement. The jurors did not waste any time. They deliberated for 90 minutes and came back with a unanimous verdict of guilty on all seven counts of first degree murder. As with Juan Luna, the jury saved Degorski’s life. The vote was 10-2 in favor of death. The robbery netted the pair $2,000. The murders got them life without parole.
Artist’s sketch of Anne Lockett on the stand
It’s interesting to note that the pair made two critical mistakes. If Juan Luna had not ordered that chicken dinner, or had taken it with him after the murders, there would have been no physical evidence linking the pair to the crime. Mistake number two was Degorski feeling the need to brag about the crime to his girlfriend. We can all be thankful that these killers did not get away with murder. Brown’s Chicken struggled after the murders. There was a 35% drop in business and many of the restaurants closed. The building where the murders took place was torn down in 2001. A Chase bank now sits on the site. There is a new Brown’s Chicken and Pasta on the same highway at 301 E. Northwest Hwy in Palatine.
Palatine, Illinois 1993: Brown’s Chicken was founded by John and Belva Brown. The first restaurant opened up in Bridgeview, Illinois and consisted of the Brown’s selling the chicken from a trailer. The 1960’s and 1970’s saw a great period of growth with Brown’s Chicken franchises opening all over the US. One of these restaurants was in Palatine, Illinois at 168 W. Northwest Highway. With Brown’s Chicken being an American success story, no one could have predicted the dark days that were to come. The events of January 8, 1993 changed everything.
The owners of the Brown’s Chicken franchise in Palatine, 50 year old Richard Ehlenfeldt and his 49 year old wife Lynn were very pleased with their franchise. They had worked hard and now they were enjoying the success of their restaurant. Brown’s Chicken was popular across the country but was an institution in Illinois. Much would change on a cold, winter’s night in January 1993. Both owners were present in the restaurant that night along with five employees. Guadalupe Maldonado,46, was the cook. High school students Michael Castro and Rico Solis were helping out along with 31 year old Marcus Nellson and 32 year old Thomas Menses.
Richard and Lynn Ehlenfeldt
Guadalupe Maldonado, Rico Solis,
Michael Castro, Thomas Mennes and Marcus Nellsen
At about 7:30pm a Little City Foundation employee decided to bring in two of her clients for a bite. Little City “engages and supports individuals, families and communities with autism and other disabilities to realize their potential.” On this night Debbie Medow picked Brown’s Chicken. Debbie figures they were in the restaurant from about 7:30 to 9pm. She remembers buying a coffee from Lynn as they were leaving and that they appeared to be getting ready to close as the workers were wiping down tables and washing the floor. During the evening and early morning hours the Palatine police received several calls from anxious relatives. Michael Castro’s parents called when their son did not return home from work. Michael always called if he wasn’t coming straight home. At about 11pm Michael’s parents decided to go and look for themselves. When he got to the restaurant a police car was in the parking lot. The cop behind the wheel told the Castro family, “don’t worry about your son, he’ll come home. He’ll be back. He’ll call”. The cop was wrong…Michael didn’t call or come back. The officer did not even get out of his car. If he had checked, he would have found the east employee entrance door open. At 2am, after another call from the Castro family, an officer went to their home and had them fill out a missing person report. After this, the police finally entered the restaurant. What they found once they were inside would haunt the city of Palatine for years to come.
All seven inside the restaurant were dead. Five were in one walk-in freezer and two more in another cooler. Six had been shot to death. One veteran police officer said that the shootings looked like they had been “execution style.” Lynn Ehlenfeldt’s throat had been cut. Attempts had been made by the killers to clean up the scene. A blood-soaked mop lay in one corner. Evidence was gathered which included a partially eaten chicken sandwich. There were very few clues to work with. It would prove to be a very tough case.
Bodies being removed from the crime scene
During the investigation there would be much criticism leveled at the Palatine Police Dept. The Castro family was especially critical, wondering out loud if a faster response to their calls could possibly have saved lives. Michael Castro’s father Emmanuel said, “if someone was still living, gasping for breath, we might have saved his life.” This probably is not true as it appears that all of the victims died quickly. Mr. Castro was left to think that he was not taken seriously “because of our accent, because of our look.” Still, there was no excuse for the police not entering the restaurant much earlier than they did. Several hours before the bodies were discovered the police chased away Pedro Maldonado (the cook’s brother) as he looked through the window of the restaurant. Once again, the officer did not get out of his car.
More than 4,000 tips and leads were followed up and checked but nothing panned out…that is until 2002, nine years after the murders when the police received a phone call. Back in 1993 Anne Lockett was a 17 year old young woman who was dating a 20 year old man named James Degorski. One night Degorski told her of the murders and how he and a friend named Juan Luna had committed them. He also told Anne that he would kill her if she ever told anyone. When explaining why she never came forward Anne said, “he killed seven, why not eight?” Anne kept the secret until 2001 when she told three friends. Her friends convinced her to share the information with the police. In May 2002 Degorski and Luna were arrested and charged with the murders. Luna had worked at Brown’s Chicken until a couple of months before the murders and his knowledge of the routines of the employees was used by the two killers. Juan Luna confessed and gave a chilling account of the murders. The killers had entered the restaurant within minutes of Debbie Medow leaving. Juan Luna ordered a chicken dinner and the sale was rung up at 9:08pm. No one knew at the time but the chicken dinner would play a major role later. The confession included the killing of Lynn Ehlenfeldt. Luna’s words, “she was very scared. Hands trembling. She stuck the key in the safe and opened it. I said to her to turn around and I cut her throat. I guess I just got caught up in it and cut her throat. She was lying on the floor. She started gurgling and just ran out of breath.” The others were herded into the freezer and all were shot multiple times. Luna then shut off the lights and cut the power. The clock was frozen at 9:52pm. The murders had taken 44 minutes. Eileen Bakalla was another friend of both Luna and Degorski. She claimed to have met the two men on the night of the murders and they claimed to have robbed Brown’s Chicken. They conveniently left out the fact about the murders.
Juan Luna in custody
James Degorski
Before the trial began Luna recanted his confession with his lawyers saying that the confession had been coerced. The two men were tried separately with Luna’s trial beginning in April 2007. The prosecutor slipped in his opening statement when he said that the murders occurred in a Burger King. Thankfully it was his only error. When Luna ordered the chicken dinner at 9:08pm on January 8, 1993 just before the murders were committed he couldn’t have known that it would come back to haunt him. The investigators bagged the evidence which, even 14 years later contained Juan Luna’s DNA. This evidence, along with the testimony of Anne Lockett and Eileen Bakalla, was enough to ensure a unanimous guilty verdict on all seven counts of first degree murder. Luna was eligible for the death penalty but one juror saved his life with the vote being 11-1 favoring death. Luna instead received a life sentence without parole. Degorski’s turn would come in 2009. Sixteen years had now passed since the murders. There was less evidence against Degorski then there was against Luna. There was no physical evidence linking him to the crime scene or the murders. There was only the testimony of ex girlfriend Anne Lockett (now married and going by the name of Anne England) and Eileen Bakalla. The prosecution did not introduce Luna’s taped confession. When questioned Anne said, “They did it because Juan wanted to do something big and see what it was like to kill somebody and Jim agreed to help.” She testified that Degorski had told her how Juan Luna and himself had robbed Brown’s Chicken and committed the murders. Only the killer would have had the information that Degorski gave to Anne that night when they were in Jim’s basement. The jurors did not waste any time. They deliberated for 90 minutes and came back with a unanimous verdict of guilty on all seven counts of first degree murder. As with Juan Luna, the jury saved Degorski’s life. The vote was 10-2 in favor of death. The robbery netted the pair $2,000. The murders got them life without parole.
Artist’s sketch of Anne Lockett on the stand
It’s interesting to note that the pair made two critical mistakes. If Juan Luna had not ordered that chicken dinner, or had taken it with him after the murders, there would have been no physical evidence linking the pair to the crime. Mistake number two was Degorski feeling the need to brag about the crime to his girlfriend. We can all be thankful that these killers did not get away with murder. Brown’s Chicken struggled after the murders. There was a 35% drop in business and many of the restaurants closed. The building where the murders took place was torn down in 2001. A Chase bank now sits on the site. There is a new Brown’s Chicken and Pasta on the same highway at 301 E. Northwest Hwy in Palatine.
Palatine, Illinois 1993: Brown’s Chicken was founded by John and Belva Brown. The first restaurant opened up in Bridgeview, Illinois and consisted of the Brown’s selling the chicken from a trailer. The 1960’s and 1970’s saw a great period of growth with Brown’s Chicken franchises opening all over the US. One of these restaurants was in Palatine, Illinois at 168 W. Northwest Highway. With Brown’s Chicken being an American success story, no one could have predicted the dark days that were to come. The events of January 8, 1993 changed everything.
The owners of the Brown’s Chicken franchise in Palatine, 50 year old Richard Ehlenfeldt and his 49 year old wife Lynn were very pleased with their franchise. They had worked hard and now they were enjoying the success of their restaurant. Brown’s Chicken was popular across the country but was an institution in Illinois. Much would change on a cold, winter’s night in January 1993. Both owners were present in the restaurant that night along with five employees. Guadalupe Maldonado,46, was the cook. High school students Michael Castro and Rico Solis were helping out along with 31 year old Marcus Nellson and 32 year old Thomas Mennes.
Richard and Lynn Ehlenfeldt
Guadalupe Maldonado, Rico Solis,
Michael Castro, Thomas Mennes and Marcus Nellsen
At about 7:30pm a Little City Foundation employee decided to bring in two of her clients for a bite. Little City “engages and supports individuals, families and communities with autism and other disabilities to realize their potential.” On this night Debbie Medow picked Brown’s Chicken. Debbie figures they were in the restaurant from about 7:30 to 9pm. She remembers buying a coffee from Lynn as they were leaving and that they appeared to be getting ready to close as the workers were wiping down tables and washing the floor. During the evening and early morning hours the Palatine police received several calls from anxious relatives. Michael Castro’s parents called when their son did not return home from work. Michael always called if he wasn’t coming straight home. At about 11pm Michael’s parents decided to go and look for themselves. When he got to the restaurant a police car was in the parking lot. The cop behind the wheel told the Castro family, “don’t worry about your son, he’ll come home. He’ll be back. He’ll call”. The cop was wrong…Michael didn’t call or come back. The officer did not even get out of his car. If he had checked, he would have found the east employee entrance door open. At 2am, after another call from the Castro family, an officer went to their home and had them fill out a missing person report. After this, the police finally entered the restaurant. What they found once they were inside would haunt the city of Palatine for years to come.
All seven inside the restaurant were dead. Five were in one walk-in freezer and two more in another cooler. Six had been shot to death. One veteran police officer said that the shootings looked like they had been “execution style.” Lynn Ehlenfeldt’s throat had been cut. Attempts had been made by the killers to clean up the scene. A blood-soaked mop lay in one corner. Evidence was gathered which included a partially eaten chicken sandwich. There were very few clues to work with. It would prove to be a very tough case.
Bodies being removed from the crime scene
During the investigation there would be much criticism leveled at the Palatine Police Dept. The Castro family was especially critical, wondering out loud if a faster response to their calls could possibly have saved lives. Michael Castro’s father Emmanuel said, “if someone was still living, gasping for breath, we might have saved his life.” This probably is not true as it appears that all of the victims died quickly. Mr. Castro was left to think that he was not taken seriously “because of our accent, because of our look.” Still, there was no excuse for the police not entering the restaurant much earlier than they did. Several hours before the bodies were discovered the police chased away Pedro Maldonado (the cook’s brother) as he looked through the window of the restaurant. Once again, the officer did not get out of his car.
More than 4,000 tips and leads were followed up and checked but nothing panned out…that is until 2002, nine years after the murders when the police received a phone call. Back in 1993 Anne Lockett was a 17 year old young woman who was dating a 20 year old man named James Degorski. One night Degorski told her of the murders and how he and a friend named Juan Luna had committed them. He also told Anne that he would kill her if she ever told anyone. When explaining why she never came forward Anne said, “he killed seven, why not eight?” Anne kept the secret until 2001 when she told three friends. Her friends convinced her to share the information with the police. In May 2002 Degorski and Luna were arrested and charged with the murders. Luna had worked at Brown’s Chicken until a couple of months before the murders and his knowledge of the routines of the employees was used by the two killers. Juan Luna confessed and gave a chilling account of the murders. The killers had entered the restaurant within minutes of Debbie Medow leaving. Juan Luna ordered a chicken dinner and the sale was rung up at 9:08pm. No one knew at the time but the chicken dinner would play a major role later. The confession included the killing of Lynn Ehlenfeldt. Luna’s words, “she was very scared. Hands trembling. She stuck the key in the safe and opened it. I said to her to turn around and I cut her throat. I guess I just got caught up in it and cut her throat. She was lying on the floor. She started gurgling and just ran out of breath.” The others were herded into the freezer and all were shot multiple times. Luna then shut off the lights and cut the power. The clock was frozen at 9:52pm. The murders had taken 44 minutes. Eileen Bakalla was another friend of both Luna and Degorski. She claimed to have met the two men on the night of the murders and they claimed to have robbed Brown’s Chicken. They conveniently left out the fact about the murders.
Juan Luna in custody
James Degorski
Before the trial began Luna recanted his confession with his lawyers saying that the confession had been coerced. The two men were tried separately with Luna’s trial beginning in April 2007. The prosecutor slipped in his opening statement when he said that the murders occurred in a Burger King. Thankfully it was his only error. When Luna ordered the chicken dinner at 9:08pm on January 8, 1993 just before the murders were committed he couldn’t have known that it would come back to haunt him. The investigators bagged the evidence which, even 14 years later contained Juan Luna’s DNA. This evidence, along with the testimony of Anne Lockett and Eileen Bakalla, was enough to ensure a unanimous guilty verdict on all seven counts of first degree murder. Luna was eligible for the death penalty but one juror saved his life with the vote being 11-1 favoring death. Luna instead received a life sentence without parole. Degorski’s turn would come in 2009. Sixteen years had now passed since the murders. There was less evidence against Degorski then there was against Luna. There was no physical evidence linking him to the crime scene or the murders. There was only the testimony of ex girlfriend Anne Lockett (now married and going by the name of Anne England) and Eileen Bakalla. The prosecution did not introduce Luna’s taped confession. When questioned Anne said, “They did it because Juan wanted to do something big and see what it was like to kill somebody and Jim agreed to help.” She testified that Degorski had told her how Juan Luna and himself had robbed Brown’s Chicken and committed the murders. Only the killer would have had the information that Degorski gave to Anne that night when they were in Jim’s basement. The jurors did not waste any time. They deliberated for 90 minutes and came back with a unanimous verdict of guilty on all seven counts of first degree murder. As with Juan Luna, the jury saved Degorski’s life. The vote was 10-2 in favor of death. The robbery netted the pair $2,000. The murders got them life without parole.
Artist’s sketch of Anne Lockett on the stand
It’s interesting to note that the pair made two critical mistakes. If Juan Luna had not ordered that chicken dinner, or had taken it with him after the murders, there would have been no physical evidence linking the pair to the crime. Mistake number two was Degorski feeling the need to brag about the crime to his girlfriend. We can all be thankful that these killers did not get away with murder. Brown’s Chicken struggled after the murders. There was a 35% drop in business and many of the restaurants closed. The building where the murders took place was torn down in 2001. A Chase bank now sits on the site. There is a new Brown’s Chicken and Pasta on the same highway at 301 E. Northwest Hwy in Palatine.
CAYDEN TRENT MACDONALD
WELCOME CAYDEN!!!!!
Cayden Trent MacDonald was born on March 20, 2014 on the same day that Scene of the Crime was released.
Scene of the Crime
Palatine, Illinois 1993: Brown’s Chicken was founded by John and Belva Brown. The first restaurant opened up in Bridgeview, Illinois and consisted of the Brown’s selling the chicken from a trailer. The 1960’s and 1970’s saw a great period of growth with Brown’s Chicken franchises opening all over the US. One of these restaurants was in Palatine, Illinois at 168 W. Northwest Highway. With Brown’s Chicken being an American success story, no one could have predicted the dark days that were to come. The events of January 8, 1993 changed everything.
The owners of the Brown’s Chicken franchise in Palatine, 50 year old Richard Ehlenfeldt and his 49 year old wife Lynn were very pleased with their franchise. They had worked hard and now they were enjoying the success of their restaurant. Brown’s Chicken was popular across the country but was an institution in Illinois. Much would change on a cold, winter’s night in January 1993. Both owners were present in the restaurant that night along with five employees. Guadalupe Maldonado,46, was the cook. High school students Michael Castro and Rico Solis were helping out along with 31 year old Marcus Nellson and 32 year old Thomas Mennes.
Richard and Lynn Ehlenfeldt
Guadalupe Maldonado, Rico Solis,
Michael Castro, Thomas Mennes and Marcus Nellsen
At about 7:30pm a Little City Foundation employee decided to bring in two of her clients for a bite. Little City “engages and supports individuals, families and communities with autism and other disabilities to realize their potential.” On this night Debbie Medow picked Brown’s Chicken. Debbie figures they were in the restaurant from about 7:30 to 9pm. She remembers buying a coffee from Lynn as they were leaving and that they appeared to be getting ready to close as the workers were wiping down tables and washing the floor. During the evening and early morning hours the Palatine police received several calls from anxious relatives. Michael Castro’s parents called when their son did not return home from work. Michael always called if he wasn’t coming straight home. At about 11pm Michael’s parents decided to go and look for themselves. When he got to the restaurant a police car was in the parking lot. The cop behind the wheel told the Castro family, “don’t worry about your son, he’ll come home. He’ll be back. He’ll call”. The cop was wrong…Michael didn’t call or come back. The officer did not even get out of his car. If he had checked, he would have found the east employee entrance door open. At 2am, after another call from the Castro family, an officer went to their home and had them fill out a missing person report. After this, the police finally entered the restaurant. What they found once they were inside would haunt the city of Palatine for years to come.
All seven inside the restaurant were dead. Five were in one walk-in freezer and two more in another cooler. Six had been shot to death. One veteran police officer said that the shootings looked like they had been “execution style.” Lynn Ehlenfeldt’s throat had been cut. Attempts had been made by the killers to clean up the scene. A blood-soaked mop lay in one corner. Evidence was gathered which included a partially eaten chicken sandwich. There were very few clues to work with. It would prove to be a very tough case.
Bodies being removed from the crime scene
During the investigation there would be much criticism leveled at the Palatine Police Dept. The Castro family was especially critical, wondering out loud if a faster response to their calls could possibly have saved lives. Michael Castro’s father Emmanuel said, “if someone was still living, gasping for breath, we might have saved his life.” This probably is not true as it appears that all of the victims died quickly. Mr. Castro was left to think that he was not taken seriously “because of our accent, because of our look.” Still, there was no excuse for the police not entering the restaurant much earlier than they did. Several hours before the bodies were discovered the police chased away Pedro Maldonado (the cook’s brother) as he looked through the window of the restaurant. Once again, the officer did not get out of his car.
More than 4,000 tips and leads were followed up and checked but nothing panned out…that is until 2002, nine years after the murders when the police received a phone call. Back in 1993 Anne Lockett was a 17 year old young woman who was dating a 20 year old man named James Degorski. One night Degorski told her of the murders and how he and a friend named Juan Luna had committed them. He also told Anne that he would kill her if she ever told anyone. When explaining why she never came forward Anne said, “he killed seven, why not eight?” Anne kept the secret until 2001 when she told three friends. Her friends convinced her to share the information with the police. In May 2002 Degorski and Luna were arrested and charged with the murders. Luna had worked at Brown’s Chicken until a couple of months before the murders and his knowledge of the routines of the employees was used by the two killers. Juan Luna confessed and gave a chilling account of the murders. The killers had entered the restaurant within minutes of Debbie Medow leaving. Juan Luna ordered a chicken dinner and the sale was rung up at 9:08pm. No one knew at the time but the chicken dinner would play a major role later. The confession included the killing of Lynn Ehlenfeldt. Luna’s words, “she was very scared. Hands trembling. She stuck the key in the safe and opened it. I said to her to turn around and I cut her throat. I guess I just got caught up in it and cut her throat. She was lying on the floor. She started gurgling and just ran out of breath.” The others were herded into the freezer and all were shot multiple times. Luna then shut off the lights and cut the power. The clock was frozen at 9:52pm. The murders had taken 44 minutes. Eileen Bakalla was another friend of both Luna and Degorski. She claimed to have met the two men on the night of the murders and they claimed to have robbed Brown’s Chicken. They conveniently left out the fact about the murders.
Juan Luna in custody
James Degorski
Before the trial began Luna recanted his confession with his lawyers saying that the confession had been coerced. The two men were tried separately with Luna’s trial beginning in April 2007. The prosecutor slipped in his opening statement when he said that the murders occurred in a Burger King. Thankfully it was his only error. When Luna ordered the chicken dinner at 9:08pm on January 8, 1993 just before the murders were committed he couldn’t have known that it would come back to haunt him. The investigators bagged the evidence which, even 14 years later contained Juan Luna’s DNA. This evidence, along with the testimony of Anne Lockett and Eileen Bakalla, was enough to ensure a unanimous guilty verdict on all seven counts of first degree murder. Luna was eligible for the death penalty but one juror saved his life with the vote being 11-1 favoring death. Luna instead received a life sentence without parole. Degorski’s turn would come in 2009. Sixteen years had now passed since the murders. There was less evidence against Degorski then there was against Luna. There was no physical evidence linking him to the crime scene or the murders. There was only the testimony of ex girlfriend Anne Lockett (now married and going by the name of Anne England) and Eileen Bakalla. The prosecution did not introduce Luna’s taped confession. When questioned Anne said, “They did it because Juan wanted to do something big and see what it was like to kill somebody and Jim agreed to help.” She testified that Degorski had told her how Juan Luna and himself had robbed Brown’s Chicken and committed the murders. Only the killer would have had the information that Degorski gave to Anne that night when they were in Jim’s basement. The jurors did not waste any time. They deliberated for 90 minutes and came back with a unanimous verdict of guilty on all seven counts of first degree murder. As with Juan Luna, the jury saved Degorski’s life. The vote was 10-2 in favor of death. The robbery netted the pair $2,000. The murders got them life without parole.
Artist’s sketch of Anne Lockett on the stand
It’s interesting to note that the pair made two critical mistakes. If Juan Luna had not ordered that chicken dinner, or had taken it with him after the murders, there would have been no physical evidence linking the pair to the crime. Mistake number two was Degorski feeling the need to brag about the crime to his girlfriend. We can all be thankful that these killers did not get away with murder. Brown’s Chicken struggled after the murders. There was a 35% drop in business and many of the restaurants closed. The building where the murders took place was torn down in 2001. A Chase bank now sits on the site. There is a new Brown’s Chicken and Pasta on the same highway at 301 E. Northwest Hwy in Palatine.
Palatine, Illinois 1993: Brown’s Chicken was founded by John and Belva Brown. The first restaurant opened up in Bridgeview, Illinois and consisted of the Brown’s selling the chicken from a trailer. The 1960’s and 1970’s saw a great period of growth with Brown’s Chicken franchises opening all over the US. One of these restaurants was in Palatine, Illinois at 168 W. Northwest Highway. With Brown’s Chicken being an American success story, no one could have predicted the dark days that were to come. The events of January 8, 1993 changed everything.
The owners of the Brown’s Chicken franchise in Palatine, 50 year old Richard Ehlenfeldt and his 49 year old wife Lynn were very pleased with their franchise. They had worked hard and now they were enjoying the success of their restaurant. Brown’s Chicken was popular across the country but was an institution in Illinois. Much would change on a cold, winter’s night in January 1993. Both owners were present in the restaurant that night along with five employees. Guadalupe Maldonado,46, was the cook. High school students Michael Castro and Rico Solis were helping out along with 31 year old Marcus Nellson and 32 year old Thomas Menses.
Richard and Lynn Ehlenfeldt
Guadalupe Maldonado, Rico Solis,
Michael Castro, Thomas Mennes and Marcus Nellsen
At about 7:30pm a Little City Foundation employee decided to bring in two of her clients for a bite. Little City “engages and supports individuals, families and communities with autism and other disabilities to realize their potential.” On this night Debbie Medow picked Brown’s Chicken. Debbie figures they were in the restaurant from about 7:30 to 9pm. She remembers buying a coffee from Lynn as they were leaving and that they appeared to be getting ready to close as the workers were wiping down tables and washing the floor. During the evening and early morning hours the Palatine police received several calls from anxious relatives. Michael Castro’s parents called when their son did not return home from work. Michael always called if he wasn’t coming straight home. At about 11pm Michael’s parents decided to go and look for themselves. When he got to the restaurant a police car was in the parking lot. The cop behind the wheel told the Castro family, “don’t worry about your son, he’ll come home. He’ll be back. He’ll call”. The cop was wrong…Michael didn’t call or come back. The officer did not even get out of his car. If he had checked, he would have found the east employee entrance door open. At 2am, after another call from the Castro family, an officer went to their home and had them fill out a missing person report. After this, the police finally entered the restaurant. What they found once they were inside would haunt the city of Palatine for years to come.
All seven inside the restaurant were dead. Five were in one walk-in freezer and two more in another cooler. Six had been shot to death. One veteran police officer said that the shootings looked like they had been “execution style.” Lynn Ehlenfeldt’s throat had been cut. Attempts had been made by the killers to clean up the scene. A blood-soaked mop lay in one corner. Evidence was gathered which included a partially eaten chicken sandwich. There were very few clues to work with. It would prove to be a very tough case.
Bodies being removed from the crime scene
During the investigation there would be much criticism leveled at the Palatine Police Dept. The Castro family was especially critical, wondering out loud if a faster response to their calls could possibly have saved lives. Michael Castro’s father Emmanuel said, “if someone was still living, gasping for breath, we might have saved his life.” This probably is not true as it appears that all of the victims died quickly. Mr. Castro was left to think that he was not taken seriously “because of our accent, because of our look.” Still, there was no excuse for the police not entering the restaurant much earlier than they did. Several hours before the bodies were discovered the police chased away Pedro Maldonado (the cook’s brother) as he looked through the window of the restaurant. Once again, the officer did not get out of his car.
More than 4,000 tips and leads were followed up and checked but nothing panned out…that is until 2002, nine years after the murders when the police received a phone call. Back in 1993 Anne Lockett was a 17 year old young woman who was dating a 20 year old man named James Degorski. One night Degorski told her of the murders and how he and a friend named Juan Luna had committed them. He also told Anne that he would kill her if she ever told anyone. When explaining why she never came forward Anne said, “he killed seven, why not eight?” Anne kept the secret until 2001 when she told three friends. Her friends convinced her to share the information with the police. In May 2002 Degorski and Luna were arrested and charged with the murders. Luna had worked at Brown’s Chicken until a couple of months before the murders and his knowledge of the routines of the employees was used by the two killers. Juan Luna confessed and gave a chilling account of the murders. The killers had entered the restaurant within minutes of Debbie Medow leaving. Juan Luna ordered a chicken dinner and the sale was rung up at 9:08pm. No one knew at the time but the chicken dinner would play a major role later. The confession included the killing of Lynn Ehlenfeldt. Luna’s words, “she was very scared. Hands trembling. She stuck the key in the safe and opened it. I said to her to turn around and I cut her throat. I guess I just got caught up in it and cut her throat. She was lying on the floor. She started gurgling and just ran out of breath.” The others were herded into the freezer and all were shot multiple times. Luna then shut off the lights and cut the power. The clock was frozen at 9:52pm. The murders had taken 44 minutes. Eileen Bakalla was another friend of both Luna and Degorski. She claimed to have met the two men on the night of the murders and they claimed to have robbed Brown’s Chicken. They conveniently left out the fact about the murders.
Juan Luna in custody
James Degorski
Before the trial began Luna recanted his confession with his lawyers saying that the confession had been coerced. The two men were tried separately with Luna’s trial beginning in April 2007. The prosecutor slipped in his opening statement when he said that the murders occurred in a Burger King. Thankfully it was his only error. When Luna ordered the chicken dinner at 9:08pm on January 8, 1993 just before the murders were committed he couldn’t have known that it would come back to haunt him. The investigators bagged the evidence which, even 14 years later contained Juan Luna’s DNA. This evidence, along with the testimony of Anne Lockett and Eileen Bakalla, was enough to ensure a unanimous guilty verdict on all seven counts of first degree murder. Luna was eligible for the death penalty but one juror saved his life with the vote being 11-1 favoring death. Luna instead received a life sentence without parole. Degorski’s turn would come in 2009. Sixteen years had now passed since the murders. There was less evidence against Degorski then there was against Luna. There was no physical evidence linking him to the crime scene or the murders. There was only the testimony of ex girlfriend Anne Lockett (now married and going by the name of Anne England) and Eileen Bakalla. The prosecution did not introduce Luna’s taped confession. When questioned Anne said, “They did it because Juan wanted to do something big and see what it was like to kill somebody and Jim agreed to help.” She testified that Degorski had told her how Juan Luna and himself had robbed Brown’s Chicken and committed the murders. Only the killer would have had the information that Degorski gave to Anne that night when they were in Jim’s basement. The jurors did not waste any time. They deliberated for 90 minutes and came back with a unanimous verdict of guilty on all seven counts of first degree murder. As with Juan Luna, the jury saved Degorski’s life. The vote was 10-2 in favor of death. The robbery netted the pair $2,000. The murders got them life without parole.
Artist’s sketch of Anne Lockett on the stand
It’s interesting to note that the pair made two critical mistakes. If Juan Luna had not ordered that chicken dinner, or had taken it with him after the murders, there would have been no physical evidence linking the pair to the crime. Mistake number two was Degorski feeling the need to brag about the crime to his girlfriend. We can all be thankful that these killers did not get away with murder. Brown’s Chicken struggled after the murders. There was a 35% drop in business and many of the restaurants closed. The building where the murders took place was torn down in 2001. A Chase bank now sits on the site. There is a new Brown’s Chicken and Pasta on the same highway at 301 E. Northwest Hwy in Palatine.
Palatine, Illinois 1993: Brown’s Chicken was founded by John and Belva Brown. The first restaurant opened up in Bridgeview, Illinois and consisted of the Brown’s selling the chicken from a trailer. The 1960’s and 1970’s saw a great period of growth with Brown’s Chicken franchises opening all over the US. One of these restaurants was in Palatine, Illinois at 168 W. Northwest Highway. With Brown’s Chicken being an American success story, no one could have predicted the dark days that were to come. The events of January 8, 1993 changed everything.
The owners of the Brown’s Chicken franchise in Palatine, 50 year old Richard Ehlenfeldt and his 49 year old wife Lynn were very pleased with their franchise. They had worked hard and now they were enjoying the success of their restaurant. Brown’s Chicken was popular across the country but was an institution in Illinois. Much would change on a cold, winter’s night in January 1993. Both owners were present in the restaurant that night along with five employees. Guadalupe Maldonado,46, was the cook. High school students Michael Castro and Rico Solis were helping out along with 31 year old Marcus Nellson and 32 year old Thomas Mennes.
Richard and Lynn Ehlenfeldt
Guadalupe Maldonado, Rico Solis,
Michael Castro, Thomas Mennes and Marcus Nellsen
At about 7:30pm a Little City Foundation employee decided to bring in two of her clients for a bite. Little City “engages and supports individuals, families and communities with autism and other disabilities to realize their potential.” On this night Debbie Medow picked Brown’s Chicken. Debbie figures they were in the restaurant from about 7:30 to 9pm. She remembers buying a coffee from Lynn as they were leaving and that they appeared to be getting ready to close as the workers were wiping down tables and washing the floor. During the evening and early morning hours the Palatine police received several calls from anxious relatives. Michael Castro’s parents called when their son did not return home from work. Michael always called if he wasn’t coming straight home. At about 11pm Michael’s parents decided to go and look for themselves. When he got to the restaurant a police car was in the parking lot. The cop behind the wheel told the Castro family, “don’t worry about your son, he’ll come home. He’ll be back. He’ll call”. The cop was wrong…Michael didn’t call or come back. The officer did not even get out of his car. If he had checked, he would have found the east employee entrance door open. At 2am, after another call from the Castro family, an officer went to their home and had them fill out a missing person report. After this, the police finally entered the restaurant. What they found once they were inside would haunt the city of Palatine for years to come.
All seven inside the restaurant were dead. Five were in one walk-in freezer and two more in another cooler. Six had been shot to death. One veteran police officer said that the shootings looked like they had been “execution style.” Lynn Ehlenfeldt’s throat had been cut. Attempts had been made by the killers to clean up the scene. A blood-soaked mop lay in one corner. Evidence was gathered which included a partially eaten chicken sandwich. There were very few clues to work with. It would prove to be a very tough case.
Bodies being removed from the crime scene
During the investigation there would be much criticism leveled at the Palatine Police Dept. The Castro family was especially critical, wondering out loud if a faster response to their calls could possibly have saved lives. Michael Castro’s father Emmanuel said, “if someone was still living, gasping for breath, we might have saved his life.” This probably is not true as it appears that all of the victims died quickly. Mr. Castro was left to think that he was not taken seriously “because of our accent, because of our look.” Still, there was no excuse for the police not entering the restaurant much earlier than they did. Several hours before the bodies were discovered the police chased away Pedro Maldonado (the cook’s brother) as he looked through the window of the restaurant. Once again, the officer did not get out of his car.
More than 4,000 tips and leads were followed up and checked but nothing panned out…that is until 2002, nine years after the murders when the police received a phone call. Back in 1993 Anne Lockett was a 17 year old young woman who was dating a 20 year old man named James Degorski. One night Degorski told her of the murders and how he and a friend named Juan Luna had committed them. He also told Anne that he would kill her if she ever told anyone. When explaining why she never came forward Anne said, “he killed seven, why not eight?” Anne kept the secret until 2001 when she told three friends. Her friends convinced her to share the information with the police. In May 2002 Degorski and Luna were arrested and charged with the murders. Luna had worked at Brown’s Chicken until a couple of months before the murders and his knowledge of the routines of the employees was used by the two killers. Juan Luna confessed and gave a chilling account of the murders. The killers had entered the restaurant within minutes of Debbie Medow leaving. Juan Luna ordered a chicken dinner and the sale was rung up at 9:08pm. No one knew at the time but the chicken dinner would play a major role later. The confession included the killing of Lynn Ehlenfeldt. Luna’s words, “she was very scared. Hands trembling. She stuck the key in the safe and opened it. I said to her to turn around and I cut her throat. I guess I just got caught up in it and cut her throat. She was lying on the floor. She started gurgling and just ran out of breath.” The others were herded into the freezer and all were shot multiple times. Luna then shut off the lights and cut the power. The clock was frozen at 9:52pm. The murders had taken 44 minutes. Eileen Bakalla was another friend of both Luna and Degorski. She claimed to have met the two men on the night of the murders and they claimed to have robbed Brown’s Chicken. They conveniently left out the fact about the murders.
Juan Luna in custody
James Degorski
Before the trial began Luna recanted his confession with his lawyers saying that the confession had been coerced. The two men were tried separately with Luna’s trial beginning in April 2007. The prosecutor slipped in his opening statement when he said that the murders occurred in a Burger King. Thankfully it was his only error. When Luna ordered the chicken dinner at 9:08pm on January 8, 1993 just before the murders were committed he couldn’t have known that it would come back to haunt him. The investigators bagged the evidence which, even 14 years later contained Juan Luna’s DNA. This evidence, along with the testimony of Anne Lockett and Eileen Bakalla, was enough to ensure a unanimous guilty verdict on all seven counts of first degree murder. Luna was eligible for the death penalty but one juror saved his life with the vote being 11-1 favoring death. Luna instead received a life sentence without parole. Degorski’s turn would come in 2009. Sixteen years had now passed since the murders. There was less evidence against Degorski then there was against Luna. There was no physical evidence linking him to the crime scene or the murders. There was only the testimony of ex girlfriend Anne Lockett (now married and going by the name of Anne England) and Eileen Bakalla. The prosecution did not introduce Luna’s taped confession. When questioned Anne said, “They did it because Juan wanted to do something big and see what it was like to kill somebody and Jim agreed to help.” She testified that Degorski had told her how Juan Luna and himself had robbed Brown’s Chicken and committed the murders. Only the killer would have had the information that Degorski gave to Anne that night when they were in Jim’s basement. The jurors did not waste any time. They deliberated for 90 minutes and came back with a unanimous verdict of guilty on all seven counts of first degree murder. As with Juan Luna, the jury saved Degorski’s life. The vote was 10-2 in favor of death. The robbery netted the pair $2,000. The murders got them life without parole.
Artist’s sketch of Anne Lockett on the stand
It’s interesting to note that the pair made two critical mistakes. If Juan Luna had not ordered that chicken dinner, or had taken it with him after the murders, there would have been no physical evidence linking the pair to the crime. Mistake number two was Degorski feeling the need to brag about the crime to his girlfriend. We can all be thankful that these killers did not get away with murder. Brown’s Chicken struggled after the murders. There was a 35% drop in business and many of the restaurants closed. The building where the murders took place was torn down in 2001. A Chase bank now sits on the site. There is a new Brown’s Chicken and Pasta on the same highway at 301 E. Northwest Hwy in Palatine.