Brian Dugan sentenced to death for '83 murder of Nicarico girl
Juror Ronald Ford looked into Brian Dugan’s eyes today as the convicted rapist and killer’s death sentence was handed down for the 1983 murder of 10-year-old Jeanine Nicarico.
Ford said he “wanted to see his expression. He was emotionless.’’
But Ford said “I didn’t care what Brian Dugan felt. I did what I felt was right.’’
Ford was a member of the five-man, seven woman DuPage County jury that deliberated for more than 10 hours over two days before sentencing Dugan, 53, to death. The sentence came following an unusual — and emotionally wrenching — five-week sentencing hearing that delved into virtually every detail of the Naperville girl’s notorious murder.
“Brian Dugan is a vicious monster,’’ DuPage County State’s Attorney Joe Birkett said after the verdict was read. “He received the punishment that is long deserved and long overdue for him.’’
As prosecutors, including Birkett, left the courtroom, family members of the victims clapped and cheered.
Jeanine was kidnapped from her home on Feb. 25, 1983, then raped and beaten to death. Indicted in 2005, Dugan pleaded guilty last July to her murder, which occurred on a day the brown-haired fifth grader stayed home sick from school.
Her mother, Pat Nicarico, gasped and covered her mouth after the verdict was read today, and then later wiped tears from her face. Her father, Tom Nicarico, closed his eyes briefly.
Family members are “very, very pleased with the verdict,’’ Pat Nicarico said after the sentencing. “This decision is definitely a relief for us. It does give some sort of relief and a small measure of closure.’’
“We look at this like it’s one step closer to finishing some unfinished business,” added Roger Schnorr, whose 27-year-old sister Donna was killed by Dugan in 1984.
“Even though we’ll never get back Melissa, Jeanine or Donna . . . there are things that we have to take care of. The sooner the better.”
Dugan already is serving life sentences for the murders of Donna Schnorr and 7-year-old Melissa Ackerman.
Noting the death penalty in the state of Illinois is reserved for the worst offenders in Illinois, Birkett said, “Dugan is among the worst of the worst.’’
Dugan’s attorney, Steve Greenberg said his client “expected to get this verdict. . . . He knew what an uphill battle he was facing.’’
How did the sentence impact Dugan? It’s unclear, Greenberg said.
“As a result of his mental illness, he doesn’t feel emotion like the rest of us,’’ Greenberg said.
The jury’s decision reached today, however, didn’t come smoothly.
The jury seemingly reached a verdict late Tuesday on Dugan’s fate, prompting Jeanine’s relatives, both legal teams and news media to reassemble in the Wheaton courtroom to learn Dugan’s fate.
But Judge George Bakalis then said jurors had asked for a little more time. The jury later sent out a note that they had started deliberating again, Bakalis said in court Tuesday night.
Shortly afterward, Bakalis ordered the jurors sequestered for the night.
The jurors returned this morning, then quickly asked to see transcripts of testimony from former Illinois State Police investigator Ed Cisowski and Dugan’s former attorney, George Mueller.
Mueller represented Dugan in 1985 when he pleaded guilty to killing 7-year-old Melissa Ackerman of Somonauk and 27-year-old Donna Schnorr of Geneva — and offered to plead guilty to killing Jeanine.
Cisowski interviewed Dugan several times and was among the first investigators to believe Dugan had killed Jeanine.
Before reaching their decision, jurors also appeared to be interested in statements made by defense mental health experts. On Tuesday night, they requested transcripts from two psychologists and a psychiatrist who described Dugan as a psychopath who lacks empathy and has difficulty controlling his violent actions.
Judge George Bakalis agreed to provide the transcripts.
During the trial, defense attorneys contended that Dugan’s troubled mental health justified a life sentence, rather than the death penalty.
Mental health experts called by defense attorneys testified that Dugan is a psychopath who lacks empathy and has extreme difficulty in controlling his violent impulses.
Dugan, in an interview with defense psychologist Kent Kiehl, compared himself to a famous literary villain, saying he “turned into Mr. Hyde from Dr. Jekyll’’ and couldn’t stop himself from killing Jeanine, even though he hadn’t planned to do so and knew he his actions were wrong.
“I couldn’t stop,’’ Dugan told Kiehl, who testified on Dugan’s behalf.
Dugan took responsibility for Jeanine’s murder by pleading guilty voluntarily. He had offered years ago to admit he killed the youngster, even though two other men already had been convicted of her murder.
Those two men, Rolando Cruz and Alejandro Hernandez, spent years in prison for Jeanine’s murder before ultimately being freed. A third man, Stephen Buckley, also was charged, but was never convicted in Jeanine’s death.
“There’s no chance death is appropriate, given the unique circumstances of this case,’’ Greenberg said Tuesday.