JOLIET, IL — This is the fifth year of Anthony "Tony" Harames' incarceration at the Will County Jail and despite the lengthy passage of time, Will County Judge Sarah Jones has no plans on the immediate horizon to schedule the Joliet first-degree murder case for a trial at the Will County Courthouse.
Inside the Will County Courthouse, at times, some murder defendants are able to prolong their cases without going to trial for many years. Romeoville's Mark Ballard, who is no longer in custody, has delayed his first-degree murder case from going to trial for 12 years, so far.
And former Joliet Public District teacher Michael Kazecki has remained free for the past eight years as he awaits going to trial for the August 2018 death of his wife, Becky, who was also a teacher for District 86 in Joliet. Michael Kazecki now has a jury trial date of July 13 set on the docket of Judge Amy Christiansen for later this summer, but whether that actually happens remains to be seen.
And then there's Harames, who was involved a standoff with the Joliet Police Department late at night back in December 2021. After Harames surrendered peacefully at his uncle's home in College Park off Houbolt Road, he confessed to ending his uncle's life by stabbing him to death, and he then put the body into a vehicle and dumped the murder victim on the sprawling grounds of Joliet's Woodlawn Cemetery along West Jefferson Street, court documents show.
Harames killed his uncle Timothy Bokholdt at his Natoma Court house and dumped his body at Woodlawn Cemetery, according to Joliet police.
Harames' uncle was left outside on the grounds of Woodlawn Cemetery without anybody knowing he was there for several days. Now 35 years, Harames has remained in the Will County Jail since Dec. 9, 2021. He's under the old cash bail system. His bail is set at $4 million.
Last week, Harames' private defense counsel, Eric Mitchell of Joliet's Mitchell Legal Solutions, filed a motion for expert assistance at partial Will County expense. According to Mitchell's filing, he "moves that this court enter an order stipulating that the county contribute towards a sanity evaluation in this cause."
Mitchell's motion goes on to explain that Harames is charged with first-degree murder, he has been in continuous custody of the Will County Jail since December 2021. Harames has an extensive history of mental illness and during the pendency of this case, Harames was restored to mental fitness.
"To ensure that the defendant receives a fair trial and representation, a sanity evaluation should be conducted in preparation for trial," Mitchell's motion stated.
Harames has accumulated $2,000 in funds to go toward paying for a sanity evaluation, his lawyer pointed out.
On Jan. 12, Judge Jones signed an order for Dr. Stapleton, Will County's appointed psychiatrist, to complete a sanity evaluation and court officials were later advised that "the mental health unit of Will County Services no longer completes this type of evaluation," Mitchell explained. "Counsel has sought out and found an outside and private psychiatrist, Dr. Tara Fullmer, who has previously completed Will County Sanity Evaluations."
Mitchell indicated that "due to the voluminous nature of law enforcement reports and defendant's past mental health records, it is believed that any sanity evaluation final invoice will exceed $2,000."
Mitchell explained in his motion that Harames, his client, has the financial inability to gather additional financial resources toward this. "The defense request that the county contribute toward any sanity evaluation outstanding balance in excess of $2,000 and this request is consistent with law," Mitchell's filing noted.
Harames' next pretrial hearing is set for April 30 in Courtroom 501 of Judge Jones. No date for a trial is even on the judge's calendar at this point in time.
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