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More than two decades after Jeanine Nicarico was abducted and slain, a former Aurora man already serving a life sentence for two other killings has been charged with murdering the 10-year-old Naperville girl.
The latest twist in the 22-year legal saga -- which has seen two other men sentenced to death for the killing but later freed -- came Tuesday when a DuPage County grand jury indicted Brian J. Dugan, 49, for Jeanine's murder. Jeanine was abducted on Feb. 25, 1983, and her body was discovered two days later along the Illinois Prairie Path.
Prosecutors have said little about what evidence led to the indictment, but sources have said DNA and other evidence strongly link Dugan to the little girl's rape, if not directly to her murder.
In out-of-court statements, Dugan has admitted murdering Jeanine, but legal observers have said they doubt those admissions can be used in court. His attorneys are expected to argue that much of the evidence previously gathered against him is inadmissible because it was collected after the start of a plea-bargaining process.
Dugan's former attorney, Thomas McCulloch, said he "is pretty confident" Dugan would plead guilty to Jeanine's murder if prosecutors agreed not to seek a death sentence. McCulloch, who has not yet been retained to represent Dugan, said a possible defense strategy would be to have Dugan plead guilty to the murder, hoping that admission then would allow him to avoid the death penalty when he is sentenced.
Among Dugan's crimes are the July 15, 1984, slaying of 27-year-old Donna Schnorr of Geneva and the June 2, 1985, murder of Melissa Ackerman, a 7-year-old girl abducted in Somonauk. Schnorr's brother, Roger, said Tuesday Dugan deserves the death penalty for all the agony he caused not only his victims, but their families and friends as well.
In 1983, the Nicarico family had achieved a suburban dream: a pleasant home on a tree-lined street in an unincorporated area on the edge of southwest suburban Naperville.
Thomas and Patricia Nicarico had moved with their children to the Naperville area about eight years earlier from New York, where Thomas and Patricia had met while Thomas was in the Navy.
The Nicaricos had three children and a small dog. Thomas was an engineer at the Chicago firm of DeLeuw Cather & Co. Patricia was secretary to the elementary school principal of nearby Ellsworth School and taught catechism classes in the family home.
Christine, the oldest, was in high school, Kathy was in junior high and Jeanine, the youngest, was in the fifth grade. The family attended mass at St. Raphael Catholic Church in Naperville.
Jeanine, whom one neighbor described as "all sweetness and bubbles," had struggled the previous year with her classwork at Elmwood School in Naperville, but a teacher who tied Jeanine's love of horses to classroom exercises helped Jeanine improve. She liked riding horses and playing soccer and she took piano lessons.
On Feb. 25, 1983, Jeanine was home alone after coming home early from school the day before with what might have been a touch of the flu. Patricia came home twice to check on Jeanine and to make her lunch. About 1 p.m., Jeanine called her mother at school to say she had heard her grandparents' hometown of Syosset, N.Y., mentioned on TV. Patricia suggested Jeanine write her grandparents and tell them about it.
About 2:40 p.m., one of Jeanine's friends called to see if she was feeling better, but there was no answer. When Kathy came home at about 3:05 p.m., she found the door kicked open. There was no sign of Jeanine. Kathy alerted a neighbor, who called Patricia at school.
When Patricia rushed home, Jeanine still was missing. The television on the lower level was still on, and there was an unfinished note from Jeanine to her grandparents on the table in front of it.
Jeanine's battered body was found two days later along the Illinois Prairie Path on the western edge of DuPage County.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-dugan30.html
The latest twist in the 22-year legal saga -- which has seen two other men sentenced to death for the killing but later freed -- came Tuesday when a DuPage County grand jury indicted Brian J. Dugan, 49, for Jeanine's murder. Jeanine was abducted on Feb. 25, 1983, and her body was discovered two days later along the Illinois Prairie Path.
Prosecutors have said little about what evidence led to the indictment, but sources have said DNA and other evidence strongly link Dugan to the little girl's rape, if not directly to her murder.
In out-of-court statements, Dugan has admitted murdering Jeanine, but legal observers have said they doubt those admissions can be used in court. His attorneys are expected to argue that much of the evidence previously gathered against him is inadmissible because it was collected after the start of a plea-bargaining process.
Dugan's former attorney, Thomas McCulloch, said he "is pretty confident" Dugan would plead guilty to Jeanine's murder if prosecutors agreed not to seek a death sentence. McCulloch, who has not yet been retained to represent Dugan, said a possible defense strategy would be to have Dugan plead guilty to the murder, hoping that admission then would allow him to avoid the death penalty when he is sentenced.
Among Dugan's crimes are the July 15, 1984, slaying of 27-year-old Donna Schnorr of Geneva and the June 2, 1985, murder of Melissa Ackerman, a 7-year-old girl abducted in Somonauk. Schnorr's brother, Roger, said Tuesday Dugan deserves the death penalty for all the agony he caused not only his victims, but their families and friends as well.
In 1983, the Nicarico family had achieved a suburban dream: a pleasant home on a tree-lined street in an unincorporated area on the edge of southwest suburban Naperville.
Thomas and Patricia Nicarico had moved with their children to the Naperville area about eight years earlier from New York, where Thomas and Patricia had met while Thomas was in the Navy.
The Nicaricos had three children and a small dog. Thomas was an engineer at the Chicago firm of DeLeuw Cather & Co. Patricia was secretary to the elementary school principal of nearby Ellsworth School and taught catechism classes in the family home.
Christine, the oldest, was in high school, Kathy was in junior high and Jeanine, the youngest, was in the fifth grade. The family attended mass at St. Raphael Catholic Church in Naperville.
Jeanine, whom one neighbor described as "all sweetness and bubbles," had struggled the previous year with her classwork at Elmwood School in Naperville, but a teacher who tied Jeanine's love of horses to classroom exercises helped Jeanine improve. She liked riding horses and playing soccer and she took piano lessons.
On Feb. 25, 1983, Jeanine was home alone after coming home early from school the day before with what might have been a touch of the flu. Patricia came home twice to check on Jeanine and to make her lunch. About 1 p.m., Jeanine called her mother at school to say she had heard her grandparents' hometown of Syosset, N.Y., mentioned on TV. Patricia suggested Jeanine write her grandparents and tell them about it.
About 2:40 p.m., one of Jeanine's friends called to see if she was feeling better, but there was no answer. When Kathy came home at about 3:05 p.m., she found the door kicked open. There was no sign of Jeanine. Kathy alerted a neighbor, who called Patricia at school.
When Patricia rushed home, Jeanine still was missing. The television on the lower level was still on, and there was an unfinished note from Jeanine to her grandparents on the table in front of it.
Jeanine's battered body was found two days later along the Illinois Prairie Path on the western edge of DuPage County.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-dugan30.html
