Baby Death: Channahon Murder Defendant Disagrees With Public Defenders

CHANNAHON, IL — After being lodged in Will County's Jail for close to four years, Jonathon Middono is taking a more active role in his first-degree murder case as he stands accused of killing his baby girl, Kora, back on June 2, 2019.

Now 33 years old, Middono submitted a motion in December to appear in court, stating he is requesting a new court date for the following reasons: he claims the Will County Public Defender's Office has not issued his court ordered copy of discovery, refuses to see him and lied about why not to go to a bench trial.

According to Middono's motion, he is requesting to change from a jury trial to a bench trial and "that date will be set after I have had time to go through my discovery."

Middono also wrote about wanting two new public defenders to have time to "go through it as well when I get new two new ones."

Middono has been incarcerated since June 3, 2019. His bail remains at $2 million.

On Dec. 9, prosecutor Mark Fleszewski and assistant public defender Anthony Purrazzo appeared before Will County Judge Carmen Goodman and Middono did not appear at the hearing, court files show. The public defender did not adopt Middono's motion for a bench trial, so Middono's correspondence was stricken.[

The judge ruled Middono's jury trial set for April 17 in Courtroom 503 will stand.

Last November, Goodman issued an order stating that a redacted version of the discovery will be tendered to the Will County State's Attorney's Office for review, and then given to Middono upon approval.

Middono faces three counts of first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated battery to a child and one count of aggravated domestic battery. He is accused inflicting blunt trauma to Kora, causing her to die.

The arrest of Middono occurred as a result of a joint police investigation involving the Channahon Police Department and the Crest Hill Police Department.

In 2019, Patch reported that Jonathan Middono, along with the mother of his child, the little baby who was only 10 weeks old and their other child, had just moved from the Channahon Manor Motel off Route 6 and I-55 to another area motel, the Crest Hill Inn on Plainfield Road, on May 30.

According to Channahon police, "Kora was living with her mother and father at the Manor Motel in Channahon, but moved to the Crest Hill Inn in Crest Hill, Illinois the morning of May 30 ... (when) Channahon Police detectives interviewed Kora’s mother and father."

Channahon police later said they believed the child was harmed in Crest Hill.

Related Patch coverage:

Jonathon Middono Charged With Murdering His Baby Girl

Father Charged With Aggravated Battery In Channahon Baby's Death