Opinion ID: 3135595
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: facts

Text: Defendant was convicted of killing his sister, Katherine Tsao, and Katherine’s husband, James. He was also convicted of killing his parents, Terrence and Mary Hanson. The bodies of the four victims were found in James and Katherine’s home (the Tsao home) on September 29, 2005. Katherine and James had been bludgeoned. Terrence and Mary had been shot in the head. Police later determined that Terrence and Mary had been shot in their own home (the Hanson home) and then had been wrapped in tarps and transported to the Tsao home. An investigation into the murders led police to the defendant after police spoke with defendant’s other sister, Jennifer Williams. Jennifer told police that Katherine telephoned her six weeks prior to the murders, to tell Jennifer that defendant had been engaged in a scheme to obtain credit in their parents’ names. Katherine also told Jennifer that defendant had threatened Katherine by saying that if she told their father what defendant had been doing, he would kill her. The investigation quickly centered on defendant, leading to his arrest. Prior to trial defendant filed several motions in limine, mostly attempting to prevent admission of opinion and hearsay testimony stemming from the investigation. One of these motions sought to prevent reference to Jennifer’s belief that defendant was responsible for the crime. This motion was denied. The State also filed a motion in limine seeking to admit testimony from Jennifer regarding her phone conversation with Katherine six weeks before the murders. The circuit court granted this motion over defendant’s objection. As discussed below, defendant has challenged both of these rulings. The case proceeded to trial. At the guilt phase of the trial, the following evidence was heard. Chiuchih Tsao, James’s brother, testified that he and James worked together at a trading company. The last time he saw James and Katherine alive was around 5 p.m. on the day of the murders, when the two left work for the day. He then testified that James did not show up for work the next day. He thought it very strange that -2- James did not arrive for work, so he went to the Tsao home. When he arrived, he first rang the bell. Then, when no one answered, he peered in a window. From the window, Tsao saw a woman on the floor with blood around her. He called his daughter, who, when she arrived at the house, called the police. The fire department arrived first and broke down the front door. Tsao testified that he saw a person sitting on the couch when he went into the house. He went upstairs but did not see anyone there. At that time police asked him to leave the house. During his testimony, Tsao also identified a watch that he had bought for James. John Eul, an Aurora firefighter, then testified to the events following the emergency call to the Tsao home. Eul testified that when he and his partner arrived, they forced down the front door and entered the house. Inside they saw the bodies of Katherine, James, and Mary. Eul testified that they then determined the scene was not safe and exited the house. Katherine Von Holten, Mary’s coworker and friend, testified that she became worried when Mary did not show up for work on September 29. She testified that Mary had not called in to say she would be late. After noon, Von Holten called Mary at her house phone and cell phone but received no answer. At that point she and another coworker drove to the Hanson home. They entered the Hanson home with the help of a keypad code provided by Jennifer Williams. Inside the home, they noticed nothing out of the ordinary, other than a strong fire burning in the fireplace. Mary’s coworkers then left a note for Mary. The note was left next to a note, written by defendant, which read: “Mom, dad, see you Sunday. Have fun in Galena.” Next to this note was some cash. The note included a postscript that indicated this money was for “payment this month.” While Von Holten was at the Hanson home, Mary’s nephew, Bob Stutelberg, arrived. Von Holten testified that Stutelberg also looked through the house. Stutelberg then drove the three of them to the Tsao home. By the time they arrived, emergency personnel had already arrived. Stutelberg testified that defendant called him the morning of September 29. He testified defendant told him he was on his way to Midway Airport to catch a flight. Defendant asked if he would make it in time. Stutelberg testified defendant was going to be flying to -3- California. He also testified that defendant mentioned he did not get much sleep the previous night, as his mattress was “rotten.” In a second telephone call from defendant, defendant informed Stutelberg that he was at the airport and was going to make his flight. Stutelberg also testified that on September 29 he received a call from one of Terrence’s coworkers. The coworker told Stutelberg that Terrence had missed a meeting that morning. Stutelberg testified that it was unusual for Terrence to miss meetings. Stutelberg tried contacting Terrence and Mary by phone, but was unable to reach them. At this time, Stutelberg drove to the Hanson house, where he encountered Mary’s coworkers. Stutelberg, too, mentioned that other than the fire in the fireplace, nothing appeared out of the ordinary in the house. Stutelberg then accompanied Mary’s coworkers to the Tsao home. Stutelberg further testified that between 5:30 and 6 p.m. he called defendant on his cell phone to tell him that the police were saying they found four bodies in the Tsao home. Stutelberg turned the phone over to Detective Nilles of the Aurora police department, who had a conversation with the defendant. Christine Undesser testified that she and the defendant had gone out together on September 28, the night of the murders. She testified that she and defendant were out from 7 p.m. until around 9:30 p.m. During the evening defendant mentioned that he was flying to California to meet with Allison Beck, his ex-fiancée. Defendant drove Undesser to her home, arriving around 10 p.m. She and defendant talked for 15 minutes and then defendant left. Allison Beck testified that she and defendant had known each other for six years. They began dating in 2002 and eventually decided to get married. When they were engaged, she and defendant moved to Illinois from Phoenix, living with defendant’s parents. Beck testified that during the time they lived together, she had seen defendant looking through papers on Terrence’s desk. She also testified that defendant had mentioned he would get an inheritance if his parents ever passed away. In 2004, Beck broke off her engagement to defendant. At some point she moved to California, yet remained in contact with defendant. She testified that during the time they were dating, defendant was -4- spending more money and buying nicer things. In May 2005, Beck inquired about defendant’s finances and he replied that he was doing very well at his job. However, Beck also had spoken with Katherine several times in August 2005. As a result of these conversations, Beck checked her credit. During one phone conversation, defendant asked if Beck had been speaking with Katherine. Beck responded, falsely, that she had not been talking with Katherine. According to Beck, defendant responded, “If I ever find out, you are going to get it.” Beck asked him if that was a threat. Defendant replied, “It’s a fact.” Beck then testified about the week leading up to the night of the murders. She had invited defendant to a concert in Los Angeles. Defendant had agreed to go, and planned to fly to California on September 29. Beck testified defendant had told her his flight left Chicago at 9:30 a.m. and that he would be leaving his house at 6:30 a.m. in order to arrive at the airport in time. On the evening before he was to fly to Los Angeles, defendant called Beck around 11:30 p.m., Central time. Defendant said he had a bad connection, and asked Beck to call him back on his parents’ home phone number. Beck did call him, and Terrence answered the phone at first. Defendant then answered another phone in the house, and Terrence hung up. Beck and defendant then had a conversation about his trip to California. The next morning, defendant again called Beck to say that he was running late to the airport because of traffic, but that he was going to be on a later flight. When defendant arrived, Beck asked him what he did on the plane and defendant replied that he slept the entire time. He said he did not know why he was so tired. Deborah Chereskin, a neighbor of the Hansons, testified that she took her dog out in the backyard at 1:50 a.m. on September 29. Chereskin’s backyard abuts the backyard of the Hanson house. Chereskin testified that when she took her dog out, all of the lights in the Hanson house were turned on, including the basement window where defendant’s bedroom is located. State’s witnesses then testified regarding the crime scene at the Tsao home. Sergeant Nisha Kalra, an evidence technician and photographer, testified to the layout of the Tsao home, and identified several pictures depicting the location and position of the victims’ bodies, a laptop computer, bloodspatters and other forensic evidence. Detective Christopher Berard, of the computer forensics division of -5- the Naperville police, testified that the hard drive taken from the computer found near James’s body was last accessed at 10:43 p.m. on September 28. Next, Jennifer Williams, sister to both Katherine and defendant, testified as to defendant’s spending habits in the months leading up to the murders. Williams also testified to the conversation she had with Katherine six weeks before the murders. In that conversation Katherine told her that defendant had admitted to opening up credit accounts in his parents’ names and had charged around $80,000 to these accounts. Defendant had admitted this both to Katherine and to Mary. Defendant promised to pay the money back and asked that Katherine and Mary not tell Terrence. Williams testified that Katherine told defendant she was going to tell Terrence anyway. At that point Katherine told Williams that defendant had threatened her, saying, “If you tell dad I’ll fucking kill you.” Katherine called Williams that same day to tell her about the confrontation. Williams testified that Katherine called her again the following day. Katherine called to say she did not go to work because “she was really freaked out” about what defendant had said the day before. Over the next few weeks, Katherine and Williams continued to talk about the situation over the phone, but Williams did not provide any more specifics. Williams also testified that on the night of the murders, Katherine had called her twice, at 10 and 10:06 p.m. Williams was out of the house the first time Katherine called, but Katherine spoke to Williams’s daughter. The second time Katherine called, Williams did not answer, as she was getting ready for bed. The following morning, Williams tried calling Terrence to ask about a home repair issue, but there was no answer. Williams testified she also tried to reach Mary at work, as well as Mary’s cell phone and Katherine’s cell phone. She called again later in the morning, and then made repeated attempts to call each of them. She also spoke with Bob Stutelberg, and she asked him to drive over to house to check on her parents. Williams testified she also spoke with Mary’s coworkers and provided them the entry code for the garage door. Later, from the Tsao home, Mary’s coworkers put Williams on the phone with Detective Nilles, of the Aurora police department. During that conversation, Williams told Detective Nilles that she “was really worried because my brother had threatened my sister.” Williams -6- testified as to a copy of Mary’s credit report she found when cleaning out Mary’s bedroom dresser. The credit report was dated August 13, 2005, which was the day before Katherine called her about defendant’s threat. Lisa Stewart, a custodian of records for Southwest Airlines, testified that the airline’s records showed defendant had purchased a ticket from Chicago to Los Angeles, departing at 11:15 a.m. and arriving at 1:30 p.m. A return flight was booked at the same time, for flight on October 2, leaving Los Angeles at 11:15 a.m. and arriving in Chicago at 5:10 p.m. Stewart also attempted to testify to a note included in those records. That note read “if passenger checks in, please contact the LAPD . Passenger is very dangerous.” This testimony drew an objection from defense counsel and the objection was sustained. Stewart then testified to another reservation defendant had made for a flight on September 30, leaving Los Angeles at 7:15 p.m. and arriving in Chicago at 1:05 a.m. on October 1. Stewart testified defendant did not board either of defendant’s booked return flights. Sarah Voss, an airlines record custodian for United Airlines, testified that defendant had booked a flight on September 29, leaving Los Angeles at 11:05 p.m. Voss confirmed that defendant did board this flight. The State called several witnesses to explain how various evidence samples were collected and how the case was investigated. The witnesses, mainly police officers, testified that bloodstains were found in the Hanson home, that the Hansons’ mattress had been switched with a mattress in the guest bedroom, that the murderer had attempted to repair the headboard where bullets had penetrated and that a cordless drill was found. One witness testified that a bullet fragment was found in an attic joist near the Hansons’ bed. The State later argued this evidence demonstrated the calculated nature of the crime. John Collins, a firearms and tool mark expert, testified that the bullet found in the joist matched other bullets found within Terrence and Mary. Collins also testified as to tool marks made in an attempt to repair the headboard of the Hansons’ bed and testified that the plastic garbage bag found under Terrence’s head came from a box of garbage bags found at the Hanson house. He compared markings on a plastic zip lock bag found in defendant’s car, containing green latex gloves, to a box of zip lock bags at the Hanson home, and concluded -7- that the bag found in the car came from the same manufacturer as the box of bags in the Hanson home. Dr. Scott Denton, a medical examiner, testified to his autopsies of James and Katherine Tsao. He described in detail the various injuries sustained by both victims. He confirmed that James’s and Katherine’s deaths were caused by skull and brain injuries as a result of blunt trauma to the head. He also testified that James lacked any indication of defensive wounds. However, Denton did conclude that injuries to Katherine’s forearms were defensive wounds. Denton also testified that Katherine’s ring finger had been broken. He opined it was broken by being bent backwards. On cross-examination, Denton acknowledged that her ring finger had no indentation from a ring and no cuts or bruises. Denton further testified that he did not know if Katherine was wearing a ring when she was killed. Similarly, Dr. Jeff Harkey, chief forensic pathologist for the Du Page County coroner’s office, testified as to his autopsies of Terrence and Mary Hanson. Harkey concluded that each victim died as a result of a single gunshot wound to the head. Harkey also concluded, based on a stippling pattern on Terrence’s head, that a second gunshot was fired near Terrence’s head but did not hit him. Craig Morehouse, a Wisconsin state trooper, testified that he initiated a traffic stop of defendant’s vehicle north of Madison, Wisconsin. He further testified that he informed defendant that there was a warrant for his arrest in Illinois, and took defendant to a nearby county sheriff’s department. Reynaldo Rivera, an evidence technician with the Aurora police department, testified that he examined defendant’s vehicle after his arrest. Rivera testified he began by taking photographs, and then examined the contents of the vehicle. Specifically, he testified that he found a clear zip lock sandwich bag containing rubber or vinyl gloves. The gloves had a brown, reddish flaky substance on them. Rivera also found a gold Rolex watch in the center console of the vehicle along with a silver, princess-cut diamond ring. Tamara Camp, a DNA analyst, testified that she tested swabs taken from both crime scenes, as well as from items found in defendant’s vehicle the night he was stopped by Wisconsin police. Camp identified several samples that contained DNA profiles -8- matching those of James and Katherine Tsao and Terrence and Mary Hanson. Profiles matching Terrence and Mary were found both at the Hanson home as well as inside Terrence and Mary’s SUV. Camp testified that she identified a DNA profile matching James on the watch found in defendant’s SUV. Camp also testified that although she noticed a brown speck on the ring found in defendant’s SUV, she was unable to identify a DNA profile. Lastly, Camp testified that stains on the green gloves found in defendant’s vehicle tested positive for blood, and that the gloves contained a DNA profile matching that of Terrence. Michael Nilles, a detective with the Aurora police department, testified as to his investigation of the murders. When he arrived at the Hanson home, he encountered Belinda Robinson, Mary’s coworker who had gone to the home to check on Mary. Belinda handed Nilles a cell phone. On the other end of the phone was defendant’s sister, Jennifer Williams. Nilles testified that this phone conversation led him to consider defendant a suspect. After that conversation, Mary’s nephew, Bob Stutelberg, gave his cell phone to Nilles, telling Nilles that defendant was on the phone. During this conversation, Nilles confronted defendant with, among other things, the statement “Jennifer thinks you did this” and told defendant that he knew defendant had an argument with Katherine over his using his parent’s identities to get credit cards. Nilles informed defendant that he was sending two detectives to Los Angeles to meet with defendant. Nilles testified to a series of calls between himself and defendant, including a conversation in which defendant acknowledged being at the airport and Nilles told defendant that it seemed as if he was running from the police, which defendant denied. Nilles further testified that on Friday morning, September 30, he received a phone call from defendant, who indicated he was still in Los Angeles. However, following a phone call with the FBI, Nilles had reason to believe defendant was actually back in Illinois, and instructed local police agencies to look for defendant traveling north toward Wisconsin. Following defendant’s apprehension in Wisconsin, Nilles traveled there and interviewed defendant. Defendant was advised of his Miranda rights, which defendant waived. Defendant repeatedly denied being involved in the murders. The State also questioned several witnesses regarding the GPS -9- device recovered from defendant’s vehicle. The State elicited testimony that tracked the movements of defendant’s vehicle on the evening prior to the murders as well as its movements the morning before the bodies were discovered and the following day, when defendant returned to Illinois. Testimony also revealed the device was turned off between 7:30 p.m. the day of the murders and approximately 9:30 a.m. the day after. During the trial, the State also called several witnesses to establish the basis for the identity theft charges against defendant. As defendant is not challenging the evidence or the convictions on these counts, we need not describe this testimony in detail. For the defense, Jennifer Cones, a forensic scientist certified as an expert in fingerprint identification and comparison, testified that she examined a fingerprint found on the bag containing bloodstained gloves that was found in defendant’s car. Comparing this print to defendant’s fingerprints, she concluded that the two did not match. However, on cross-examination, she acknowledged that she did not compare the print to the fingerprints of Terrence and Mary Hanson. Defendant testified next. He acknowledged that he had used his mother’s and father’s names in order to secure credit, which he then used to purchase various items. He then admitted that in the middle of August his parents confronted him with credit reports and defendant admitted that he had been charging purchases to these credit cards. According to defendant, he convinced Mary that he would stop and that he would begin to pay her back. When he was separately confronted by Terrence, defendant testified, his father agreed to allow defendant to take out a consolidation loan in Terrence’s name, in order to pay off some of the current debt. Defendant then testified as to his whereabouts the evening of September 28, prior to the murders. He met with Christine Undesser at a bar and returned to his parents’ house, where he was living, around 11 p.m. Defendant testified that Terrence was awake in his office when defendant arrived home. Around 11:15 defendant called Allison Beck in Los Angeles. The connection was not good, and defendant asked Allison to call him back on his parents’ house phone. When Allison called, Terrence answered, but defendant answered shortly after and told Terrence, “I got it.” Defendant then talked to Allison until approximately 11:30. Defendant testified that after this -10- phone call, he put a movie into his DVD player and fell asleep during the movie, probably around 1:30 a.m. Defendant testified that the following morning, he woke up, went to a convenience store to buy cigarettes, took a shower, finished packing for his trip to Los Angeles and left the house. He testified he planned on driving to James and Katherine’s house in order to return Katherine’s wedding ring and the watch belonging to James. According to defendant, Katherine had taken the ring off while painting some flower pots. As for the watch, defendant testified that Katherine had wanted to order Terrence a watch and needed to know how many links were needed for the chain. According to defendant, Katherine was going to order the watch because Terrence did not always do things in a timely fashion. If Katherine helped get the right measurements, she would order the watch so Terrence would not have to do anything. Katherine had James’s watch in order to compare it to Terrence’s wrist for sizing purposes and defendant testified that Katherine left the watch at the Hanson home. Defendant testified that although he intended to return the items before he went to the airport, he was in a hurry to get to the airport and forgot to stop by their house. On the way to the airport, defendant realized that he did not have his driver’s license and that he was not going to be able to get to his flight on time. He returned to his parents’ home to get his license and called to book a new reservation to Los Angeles. On his second attempt to get to the airport, defendant called Bob Stutelburg to ask where to park and whether he thought defendant would be able to make his flight in time. Defendant testified that he did get to the airport in time and boarded his flight to Los Angeles. While in Los Angeles, defendant learned from Stutelberg that there were four persons dead in James and Katherine’s house. Defendant denied killing any of the victims. The jury returned a verdict of guilty as to all four counts of first degree murder. The jury also found defendant guilty of the armed robbery of James and Katherine Tsao and of the aggravated kidnapping of Terrence and Mary Hanson. The jury found defendant guilty of the identity theft of Terrence and Mary Hanson. In the eligibility phase of defendant’s sentencing trial, the jury returned a verdict finding defendant to be eligible for a death sentence. -11- The verdict was based on defendant being 18 years or older at the time of the murders and that the deaths were a result of the intent to kill more than one person, the murders were committed in a cold, calculated and premeditated manner pursuant to a preconceived plan scheme or design, James and Katherine were killed in the course of an armed robbery and Mary and Terrence were killed in the course of an aggravated kidnapping. At the sentencing hearing itself, the State first argued that the fact there were multiple victims and the fact that the murder was committed in a calculated and premeditated manner were both sufficient aggravating factors. The State also argued that defendant’s criminal history, which included home invasions, retail theft and property damage, was an aggravating factor. The State referred to testimony from witnesses detailing other incidents involving violence and threats made by defendant. Lastly, the State asked the jury to consider the impact statements of the victims’ family members. In mitigation, counsel for defendant argued that the murder was committed while defendant was under the influence of an extreme mental or emotional disturbance. Defendant relied primarily on the testimony of Dr. Dawkins, who concluded that defendant would not be a risk of harm to others in a structured environment such as prison. After weighing the evidence in aggravation and mitigation, the jury returned a verdict that death was the appropriate sentence. The court declined to enter a written order setting forth a basis for disagreement with the jury’s verdict, as permitted by section 9–1(g) of the Criminal Code of 1961 (720 ILCS 5/9–1(g) (West 2006)). Instead, the circuit court concurred in the decision of the jury and sentenced defendant to death. The court found that the convictions for armed robbery and aggravated kidnapping merged into the convictions for murder and so did not enter sentences on those counts. The circuit court did sentence defendant to concurrent terms of 15 years for defendant's identity theft convictions. Pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 603 and section 9–1(i) of the Criminal Code, defendant now appeals directly to this court. 134 Ill. 2d R. 603; 720 ILCS 5/9–1(i) (West 2006). -12-