No background check at Illinois Burger King results in womans murder
'Dangerous man' was released by '87 appellate court decision
On the day in 1987 when Cook County prosecutors finally ran out of options in trying to salvage the quadruple murder conviction of James Ealy, the judge who presided over the case unleashed a tirade at the higher court that overturned him.
And court records from two decades ago show that Circuit Judge Thomas J. Maloney made a prescient warning about what could happen with Ealy—who now stands accused of murdering a manager of a Lindenhurst Burger King—back on the streets.
Lake County prosecutors allege that Ealy, a former employee at the restaurant, killed Mary Hutchison, 45, on Nov. 27 in an early morning robbery. On Tuesday, Hutchison's family filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the fast-food chain and two local operators alleging that they were negligent in hiring Ealy.
The manner in which Hutchison was killed—she was strangled with the bow-tie from her uniform—bore similarities to the earlier murders, which occurred in 1982, records show. Kristina Parker, 33, her two daughters, Mary Anne, 15, and Cora, 12, and Mary Anne's son, Jontae, 3, were all strangled using pieces of fabric.
In that final 1987 hearing, Maloney railed against the appellate court judges who threw out Ealy's confession and the physical evidence detectives found under his bed, even though the justices had acknowledged that he almost certainly was guilty.
"When this dangerous man is released from the penitentiary, the state should rent every billboard in the county and state to announce that he has been turned loose on society," Maloney said, according to a transcript of the proceedings.
The ruling that reversed Ealy's conviction accused the detectives of violating the 17-year-old's rights, arresting him without probable cause under the guise of questioning a witness.
While he was being questioned over a span of 18 hours and allegedly denied food, water and use of a bathroom, Ealy gave signed consent for police to search his apartment. Under his bed, detectives found fabric that matched the ligatures used to strangle the four family members.
Illegal evidence
In his 1986 opinion, Appellate Judge James C. Murray ruled that the evidence, and the confession Ealy gave after the discovery of the evidence, were illegally obtained. In a new trial, the most critical evidence would not be allowed.
Maloney's rebuke of the appellate court was scathing.
"It is regrettable, in a city of this kind, that is in the process of being destroyed by violent crime, that the law, as it is interpreted in our 19th Century of appeals, fails defenseless citizens," Maloney said, according to the transcript. He lauded the police for working "relentlessly around the clock to solve the murder of a family of four," calling it a "monstrous crime that required a Herculean effort."
Maloney was convicted in 1993 of taking bribes to fix murder cases that he tried, crimes that spanned years including the time when he presided over Ealy's trial. At 81 he is still serving a federal prison sentence in California and is expected to be released in 2008, according to federal records.
Murray died in 1999. Another judge on the panel was R. Eugene Pincham, now a well-known criminal defense and civil rights lawyer in Chicago. Despite the brutality of the murders and the public attention they received, Pincham said Tuesday that he did not remember the case.
"I have no recollection of it, but I know the decision was right," he said. Pincham said the appellate judges would not have been swayed by facts that indicated Ealy was guilty.
"Our overriding concern is to the rule of law and the Constitution, and in order to protect the most of these you have to protect the least of these," he said. "The tragic set of circumstances is that you can't allow the police to arrest somebody without probable cause."
Speaking for the first time since Ealy was arrested last week for Hutchison's murder, the victim's 12-year-old daughter praised police.
"The wonderful thing is that they caught this creep," Rebeccah Hutchison told reporters gathered in front of her home in Trevor, Wis.
She also said she recalled her mother introducing her to Ealy when he worked at the food restaurant. She said the meeting was brief and happened "a couple of months ago."
The family's lawsuit alleges that Burger King Corp. and two companies identified as franchisees—Fox Lake Family Dining Inc. and Spence Group Services Inc.—were negligent in hiring Ealy and failed to take adequate safety precautions at the restaurant.
Restaurant officials used an inadequate alarm system, failed to check Ealy's background and didn't make sure he turned in his key when he quit, the lawsuit alleges.
'No excuse'
When hired by a major corporation, "You don't expect ... to be working side by side with a convicted murderer," the family's attorney, Kathleen Zellner, said Tuesday. "There's really no excuse for that."
An official of Fox Lake Family Dining said Tuesday that he could not comment on the specific allegations in the lawsuit.
But, "In an unfortunate situation like this, there is maybe a need or a desire to place blame," said Chris Ondrula, Fox Lake Family Dining's vice president of corporate affairs. "Our overriding concern is offering condolences to the family" and raising money through a memorial fund.
Burger King and Spence Group officials could not be reached.
The manner in which Hutchison was killed—she was strangled with the bow-tie from her uniform—bore similarities to the earlier murders, which occurred in 1982, records show. Kristina Parker, 33, her two daughters, Mary Anne, 15, and Cora, 12, and Mary Anne's son, Jontae, 3, were all strangled using pieces of fabric.
In that final 1987 hearing, Maloney railed against the appellate court judges who threw out Ealy's confession and the physical evidence detectives found under his bed, even though the justices had acknowledged that he almost certainly was guilty.
"When this dangerous man is released from the penitentiary, the state should rent every billboard in the county and state to announce that he has been turned loose on society," Maloney said, according to a transcript of the proceedings.
The ruling that reversed Ealy's conviction accused the detectives of violating the 17-year-old's rights, arresting him without probable cause under the guise of questioning a witness.
While he was being questioned over a span of 18 hours and allegedly denied food, water and use of a bathroom, Ealy gave signed consent for police to search his apartment. Under his bed, detectives found fabric that matched the ligatures used to strangle the four family members.
Illegal evidence
In his 1986 opinion, Appellate Judge James C. Murray ruled that the evidence, and the confession Ealy gave after the discovery of the evidence, were illegally obtained. In a new trial, the most critical evidence would not be allowed.
Maloney's rebuke of the appellate court was scathing.
"It is regrettable, in a city of this kind, that is in the process of being destroyed by violent crime, that the law, as it is interpreted in our 19th Century of appeals, fails defenseless citizens," Maloney said, according to the transcript. He lauded the police for working "relentlessly around the clock to solve the murder of a family of four," calling it a "monstrous crime that required a Herculean effort."
Maloney was convicted in 1993 of taking bribes to fix murder cases that he tried, crimes that spanned years including the time when he presided over Ealy's trial. At 81 he is still serving a federal prison sentence in California and is expected to be released in 2008, according to federal records.
Murray died in 1999. Another judge on the panel was R. Eugene Pincham, now a well-known criminal defense and civil rights lawyer in Chicago. Despite the brutality of the murders and the public attention they received, Pincham said Tuesday that he did not remember the case.
"I have no recollection of it, but I know the decision was right," he said. Pincham said the appellate judges would not have been swayed by facts that indicated Ealy was guilty.
"Our overriding concern is to the rule of law and the Constitution, and in order to protect the most of these you have to protect the least of these," he said. "The tragic set of circumstances is that you can't allow the police to arrest somebody without probable cause."
Speaking for the first time since Ealy was arrested last week for Hutchison's murder, the victim's 12-year-old daughter praised police.
"The wonderful thing is that they caught this creep," Rebeccah Hutchison told reporters gathered in front of her home in Trevor, Wis.
She also said she recalled her mother introducing her to Ealy when he worked at the food restaurant. She said the meeting was brief and happened "a couple of months ago."
The family's lawsuit alleges that Burger King Corp. and two companies identified as franchisees—Fox Lake Family Dining Inc. and Spence Group Services Inc.—were negligent in hiring Ealy and failed to take adequate safety precautions at the restaurant.
Restaurant officials used an inadequate alarm system, failed to check Ealy's background and didn't make sure he turned in his key when he quit, the lawsuit alleges.
'No excuse'
When hired by a major corporation, "You don't expect ... to be working side by side with a convicted murderer," the family's attorney, Kathleen Zellner, said Tuesday. "There's really no excuse for that."
An official of Fox Lake Family Dining said Tuesday that he could not comment on the specific allegations in the lawsuit.
But, "In an unfortunate situation like this, there is maybe a need or a desire to place blame," said Chris Ondrula, Fox Lake Family Dining's vice president of corporate affairs. "Our overriding concern is offering condolences to the family" and raising money through a memorial fund.
Burger King and Spence Group officials could not be reached.
