The Brown's Chicken Massacre: A Night of Tragedy

A Chilling Night in Palatine

On the evening of January 8, 1993, the quiet suburb of Palatine, Illinois, became the backdrop for a horrific crime that would haunt the community for decades. Inside the Brown's Chicken & Pasta restaurant, located at 168 West Northwest Highway, seven lives were brutally ended in an armed robbery that turned into a massacre. The victims included the restaurant's owners, Richard E. Ehlenfeldt, aged 50, and his wife, 49-year-old Lynn A. Ehlenfeldt, along with five employees: Guadalupe Maldonado, 46, Michael C. Castro, 16, Rico L. Solis, 17, Thomas Mennes, 32, and Marcus Nellsen, 31. Castro and Solis were high school students working part-time.

As the clock ticked past the restaurant's closing time, anxious calls from the families of the employees began to pour in. Michael Castro's parents were the first to alert the police, followed by Guadalupe Maldonado’s wife. The police discovered the scene over five and a half hours after the 9 p.m. closing time, finding the rear employee door ajar. Inside, the bodies lay in chilling silence, some face-up, others face-down, in a cooler and a walk-in refrigerator. Lynn Ehlenfeldt had suffered a particularly brutal death, her throat slashed before being shot. The attackers had escaped with a mere $1,800 to $1,900, an amount that would only equate to $4,027 today.

The Perpetrators Unveiled

For over nine years, the case remained unsolved, the community left in turmoil and fear. It wasn’t until March 2002 that a breakthrough came, thanks to Anne Lockett, who implicated her ex-boyfriend James Degorski and his close friend Juan Luna in the massacre. Both Degorski and Luna were childhood friends, sharing a history at William Fremd High School. Luna, aged 18 at the time of the crime, had once been an employee at the Brown's Chicken restaurant.

In a remarkable turn of events, forensic evidence finally pointed to Luna. A piece of partially eaten chicken, preserved from the crime scene and stored in a freezer, provided the DNA sample that matched Luna’s. This pivotal evidence had been meticulously preserved, despite being allowed to thaw several times for examination using advanced testing methods not available in 1993.

Arrest and Confessions

On May 16, 2002, law enforcement apprehended both Luna and Degorski. During interrogation, Luna confessed to the crime, although his defense later claimed coercion, alleging police brutality and threats of deportation against his family, who were Mexican nationals. Degorski also confessed, and an audio recording of this confession was later played during his trial, though his lawyers contended it was obtained under duress.

Trials and Sentencing

Juan Luna faced trial first, and on May 10, 2007, he was found guilty on all seven counts of first-degree murder. A week later, on May 17, he received a life sentence without the possibility of parole. The prosecution had sought the death penalty, but the jury could not reach a unanimous decision, with an 11-1 vote falling short of the requirement.

James Degorski's trial followed in 2009. On September 29, he was also found guilty of all charges, with the testimonies of Anne Lockett and Eileen Bakalla playing crucial roles. Both women testified that Degorski had confessed to them separately about the crime. Luna had also implicated Degorski in his confession. Degorski received the same sentence as Luna—life imprisonment without parole—despite a jury vote that narrowly missed imposing the death penalty, with only two jurors dissenting.

Controversies and Appeals

In a surprising twist, James Degorski was awarded $451,000 in 2014 for compensation and punitive damages after being assaulted by a Sheriff's deputy while in custody at Cook County Jail in May 2002. The attack left him with facial fractures requiring surgery, and the deputy responsible was dismissed.

Degorski pursued appeals in 2016 and again in 2022, arguing that Luna was the sole perpetrator and challenging the credibility of Lockett’s testimony due to her history of psychiatric issues and drug addiction. He also presented a statement from a fellow inmate, Richard Bilik, who claimed Lockett had inquired about the murders while dating him. Despite these efforts, the appeals were denied both times.

Aftermath and Legacy

The massacre's impact extended beyond the courtroom, affecting the Brown's Chicken franchise disastrously. Within months, sales plummeted by 35%, forcing the closure of 100 restaurants in the Chicago area. The original building was demolished in April 2001 after a brief stint as a dry cleaner and years of vacancy. Today, a Chase Bank branch stands at the site where the tragedy unfolded.

Both Luna and Degorski remain incarcerated at the Stateville Correctional Center. The community of Palatine and the families of the victims continue to bear the scars of that fateful night when a seemingly ordinary closing shift turned into a nightmare.

Sources

• Wikipedia: Brown's Chicken massacre