A jury found a Chicago man guilty of all counts Monday in connection with the stabbing death of a 14-year-old girl in 2011.
John Wilson Jr. broke into a southwest suburban Indian Head Park home and stabbed 14-year-old Kelli O'Laughlin several times with an 8-inch carving knife after she discovered him in the process of committing the burglary.
The jury reached its verdict after deliberating for two hours.
"I'm quite pleased with the verdict. We felt confident with the evidence that was presented this last week," Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez said. "This is a horrific crime and clearly anyone who's a parent, who's a mother, who's a father, who has a teenager, this crime hits home."
The victim's mother, Brenda O'Laughlin, thanked everyone for their support.
"It's really meant a lot. That's what kept us going throughout this time, all the support throughout the trial. Without you guys I would not be where I am today, I'd probably be curled up in a ball someplace in the house," O'Laughlin said.
"Justice will never be served because Kelly is never coming home again."
Wilson told the judge he would not be testifying in his own defense. Lawyers on both sides spent several hours Monday presenting their closing arguments in the trial before handing over the case to the jury.
The prosecution's case boiled down to cell phone and DNA evidence. Assistant state's attorney Guy Lisuzzo said Wilson used a landscaping rock wrapped in a knit cap to break into the family's home and that Wilson's DNA was found on the cap.
"That was his calling card. That is also what ties him to the murder of Kelli O'Laughlin," Lisuzzo said.
Lisuzzo said the match was accurate to 1 and 4.5 quintillion.
Prosecutors said Wilson's cell phone records tracked him to locations near the O'Laughlin family home on the day of the murder. An FBI expert testified earlier in the trial that he could track Wilson’s phone, together with the phone the state says he took from O'Laughlin, from Indian Head Park to Wilson’s home on the South Side of Chicago in the days after the murder.
Defense attorney John Paul Carroll claimed Wilson was targeted by investigators because of his race.
"Everyone deserves dignity. Mr. Wilson didn't get that because he's a black man," Carroll said.
Carroll claimed the crime scene was staged to look like a burglary and that police never looked at any other possible suspects, such as the cleaning lady, landscapers or members of a sheriff's work alternative program that was working in the area on the day of the murder. He also poked fun at the DNA evidence and the cell phone analysis, saying it was done by a "telephone boy."
Carroll has also argued there is another DNA sample on the hat that does not match his client, and that no blood was ever found on his client’s clothing, suggesting the teen might have committed suicide.
"We have to give the shotgun approach, so we thought maybe the suicide would resonate with A, or maybe the landscapers or things like that," Carroll told reporters after the verdict was read.
Prosecutors say after the murder, Wilson made his way back to his Chicago home by paying for the cab ride with coins stolen from the family's home. He's also accused of stealing the victim's smartphone and sending a series of disturbing text messages to the girl's mother.
O'Laughlin's mother, Brenda, said the first text came the day after her daughter's death, asking "what Brenda?"
The text was followed by another that read "love your pic," and the most haunting of all: "she wanted me to tell you something before I killed her."
Prosecutors revealed that a haunting message was posted under the teen's Facebook profile, as well, one day after she was found murdered.
During testimony last week, LaGrange Police officer Patrick Fulla testified the message read, "Next time the b**** will do as told."
Wilson Jr. is due to appear in court Tuesday for a pre-sentencing hearing.
