Testimony is set to continue in the trial of James Degorski, the man accused of killing seven people inside a suburban Chicago fast food restaurant in 1993.
During opening statements prosecutors tried to paint the 37-year-old Degorski as a thrill seeker who killed restaurant employees for the fun of it.
Defense attorneys said Degorski wasn't even at the restaurant.
He could face the death penalty if he's convicted for the murders at Brown's Chicken and Pasta restaurant in Palatine. The restaurant's two owners and their five employees were found shot and stabbed in a walk-in freezer and cooler.
The trial is expected to last for several weeks.
Victims included restaurant owners Lynn and Richard Ehlenfeldt, and their employees, Guadalupe Maldonado, Thomas Mennes, Marcus Nellsen, Rico Solis and Michael Castro.
A jury convicted Degorski's high school friend, Juan Luna, in 2007 and sentenced him to life in prison after years of mystery surrounding the slaughter. Luna, who once worked at the restaurant, was caught nine years after the murders after he confessed to his girlfriend and she told police about the admission. Luna eventually told authorities he thought the fast food restaurant would be an easy target at closing time.
The robbery netted less than $2,000.
Prosecutors will have more trouble convicting Degorski than they did with Luna. There is little physical evidence linking him to the crime and jurors won't be allowed to hear a confession by Luna that links Degorski to the crime. Degorski gave a brief statement to police when he was arrested but stopped short of a confession, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Degorski's attorney said his client wasn't present when the killings happened and didn't kill anyone.
The victims' families say justice is long overdue, but the emotional ending they hope to walk away with differs.
"I don't think any of us will have any closure. I mean, of course we want the proceedings to go on, and you know, we want justice served, but I don't think we'll ever have any closure," said Mary Nunez, a relative of one of the victims.
But Dana Sampson lost both of her parents during the ambush of their restaurant, and she says she isn't looking for closure because that would be shutting the door on her parents' lives. Sampson says she instead wants to hold onto the memories of them.
She plans to travel from her Arizona home to attend the second trial.
