Ex-Con Found Guilty In Murder Of Southwest Suburban Teen
(CBS) -- A jury on Monday convicted a parolee in the murder of a southwest suburban teenager in late 2011.
Fourteen-year-old Kelli O'Laughlin was killed in her Indian Head Park home when police say she interrupted John Wilson Jr. burglarizing the residence. The teen, a freshman at Lyons Township High School, was stabbed to death and several items were taken from the home, including her cell phone.
"This is a horrific crime," Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez told reporters after the verdict. "And clearly, anyone who is a parent -- who's a mother, who's a father, who has teenagers -- this crime hits home. It truly does."
The trial lasted one week, but jurors deliberated for only about two hours, after closing arguments on Monday. Besides first-degree murder, Wilson was convicted of armed robbery, residential burglary and home invasion.
Because the teen was white and Wilson is black, the defense sprinkled its closing arguments with accusations Wilson was charged because of his race, CBS 2's Dorothy Tucker reports.
The defense attorney also criticized police for failing to consider any other suspects, telling the jury: "Did the girl come home and see the cleaning lady going through drawers? That's a possibility."
Prosecutors acknowledged much of the evidence was circumstantial -- but strong. They speculated Wilson, now 41, used gloves inside the house, leaving behind no fingerprints, but said his DNA was found on a cap the burglar left behind.
Gold coins taken from the O'Laughlin home were traced to Wilson, and so was the teen's cell phone. Wilson is accused of taunting Kelli's mother the day after the murder by texting her from her daughter's phone.
"Justice will never be served because Kelli will never be coming home," Brenda O'Laughlin told reporters Monday after the verdict.
Wilson, who showed no emotion when the jury announced its decision, has an extensive criminal history. Shortly after the teen's murder, prosecutors said Wilson had spent only three years out of jail since 1991. In that time, he racked up five prior convictions, including for drug dealing, burglary and armed robbery.
His most recent conviction was in September 2002, when he was sentenced to 11 years in prison for vehicle invasion and robbery. He had been paroled on Nov. 16, 2010, having become eligible after serving 50 percent of his sentence.
Wilson's defense attorney, asked how his client reacted to the verdict, responded: "He said nothing. He is meditating now."
