Chicago Area: Serial-Mass Murderer James Ealy Convicted in Burger King Trial, but He Will Never See Justice

 
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Guilty verdict in Burger King murder case

James Ealylistens to closing arguments at his trial in Waukegan. (Thomas Delany Jr., Sun-Times Media, pool / May 24, 2013)

·         Both sides rest in Burger King murder trial

·         James Ealy

·         Maps

·         Lindenhurst, IL, USA

 

Posted by Nicholas Stix

[Thanks to reader-researcher RC for the sendalong.]

 

By Ruth FullerSpecial to the Tribune

5:36 p.m. CDT, May 24, 2013

It took over six years to bring James Ealy to trial, but only four hours for a jury to convict the Lake Villa man of the first-degree murder of his former manager at the Lindenhurst Burger King.

During the four-day trial, prosecutors presented multiple witnesses to present their case that Ealy, 48, used a bow tie from Mary Hutchison's uniform to strangle her and then stabbed her with a screwdriver during a robbery of the restaurant. The defense presented limited evidence before resting their case in 10 minutes.

Ealy had no discernible reaction to the trial's outcome. But the announcement of the verdict at first prompted some confusion in the courtroom because Ealy was actually found not guilty on one of the multiple counts of first-degree murder with which he was charged.

Because the not-guilty verdict was the first to be announced, Hutchison's family and others in the courtroom gasped and cried out, thinking he had been acquitted. But the jury found Ealy guilty on another count of first-degree murder, and he faces life in prison when he's sentenced.

Hutchison had been doing inventory early in the morning on Nov. 27, 2006 and was alone at the restaurant where Ealy had worked until about a month prior to the crime. Her body was found by an employee, face down with her head next to an open safe, Assistant State's Attorney Jeffrey Pavletic said.

The cash was gone, along with $70 in rolled quarters and $40 in rolled dimes. Most of the cash and that exact amount of change was later found in Ealy's apartment, according to testimony during the trial.

Phone records showed two calls were placed to the Burger King from Ealy's phone on the day of the crime, about a half-hour before Hutchison's body was found, prosecutors said.

During the trial, Ealy's defense attorneys argued that there was no physical evidence such as a fingerprint or DNA linking Ealy to the crime scene. Ealy did not take the stand in his own defense.

Ealy was once before sent to prison for life for the murders of four people in Chicago in the 1980s. But his conviction was overturned and he was released after appeals judges determined police violated his rights in the process of arresting and interrogating him.

No sentencing date has been set.

chicagobreaking@tribune.com
Twitter: @ChicagoBreaking