Facebook Live Torture Case: Judge Wants Public Defender To Check For Conflicts Of Interest

CHICAGO, IL — A judge wants the Cook County assistant public defenders representing the defendants accused of tying up and tormenting a mentally challenged Crystal Lake man and posting videos of it on Facebook to make sure no conflicts of interest are created by the office's lawyers defending all four suspects, the Daily Herald reports.

The defendants — Jordan Hill, 18, Tesfaye Cooper, 18, Brittany Covington, 28, and Tanishia Covington, 24 — are charged with aggravated kidnapping, hate crime, aggravated unlawful restraint and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. Hill, Cooper and Brittany Covington also are charged with residential burglary, and Hill faces additional robbery and possession of a stolen motor vehicle charges.

The suspects all pleaded not guilty Feb. 10.

Judge William H. Hooks issued his order in a hearing Wednesday after determining that the possibility of conflicts could exist because the four suspects' alleged participation in the attack might not be equal, the report stated. The public defender's office will file a motion to withdraw from the case if a conflict is found, the report added.

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The suspects are accused of binding the 18-year-old victim with duct tape and tormenting him for hours in a West Side apartment in early January. While captive, the victim also had his clothes and hair cut and was forced to walk on all fours and drink water from a toilet bowl. Shouts of "F--- Donald Trump" and "F--- white people" can be heard in the video of the incident, which originally was posted online to Facebook Live.

Also during Wednesday's hearing, the assistant public defender for Brittany Covington requested a bond review hearing for his client, the only one of the four suspects to ask for that, so far, the report stated. All four defendants are currently being held without bail.

The next scheduld court date in the case is March 13.

More via the Daily Herald

The four suspects — Brittany Covington (top left), Jordan Hill (top right), Tanishia Covington and Tesfaye Cooper — charged and accused of kidnapping and tormenting a mentally disabled white man. (photos via Chicago Police Department)

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