Gempel Scratched Up After Murder On Caton Farm Road: Trial

JOLIET, IL - On Wednesday afternoon, Bolingbrook Police Sgt. Sean Talbot took the witness stand in Will County Courtroom 407 to tell the jury what he saw back on Nov. 18, 2012. Talbot was out investigating a suspicious house fire in the 2300 block of Caton Farm Road as well as the suspicious death of Dorothy Dumyahn. She was the 89-year-old woman who lived alone at that Crest Hill residence. At the scene of the crime, one of her next door neighbors caught Talbot's attention, murder defendant Bruce Gempel.

Five years ago, Talbot served as a detective on the Will County-Grundy County Major Crimes Task Force. At Caton Farm Road, Talbot saw several people including Craig Gottwald, one of Dumyahn's next door neighbors. He also saw the defendant's nephew Jacob and other relatives who lived nearby.

Will County prosecutor Christopher Koch asked Talbot, a 20-year veteran of law enforcement, whether he saw any scratches on the faces of Jacob Gempel as well as Craig Gottwald. Talbot confidently answered "No" to each of the questions.

If he had seen scratches on their faces, given the situation, Talbot testified he surely would have documented that with photographs. After all, this was still an unsolved homicide. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

Then, that very same afternoon, another of the victim's neighbors walked right past Talbot as the detective stood near the police command unit's van. It was Bruce Gempel, then 48 years old.

"What observations did you make about Bruce Gempel's face?" Koch asked.

"As he walked by me, it appeared to be a scratch by his right eye," Talbot told the Will County jury.

Talbot was asked if the same man he saw that afternoon, almost five years ago, was now inside the crowded courtroom of Will County Judge David Carlson. Several members of the victim's family were present when Talbot panned the gallery and pointed to the middle-aged man sitting at the table off to his right. On Wednesday, that man was dressed up for trial in a gray suit and wearing glasses.

This was murder defendant Bruce Gempel.

After he locked eyes on the defendant five years ago, detective Talbot began to sense that Gempel might have culpability in the neighbor lady's murder and arson. The 89-year-old Dumyahn had died from multiple stab wounds. Afterward, her killer set her house on fire trying to conceal the murder.

Talbot ultimately captured a number of photos of the defendant's face, as well as Gempel's chest, arms and legs. Several of Talbot's photos taken during the period of Nov. 18-20, 2012 were introduced as evidence during Wednesday's trial. Several were displayed on a large television monitor for the jury's review.

The introduction of these photos was incriminating for the defendant. One showed what appeared to be a gash near Bruce Gempel's right eye. Some of these photos were taken at the Romeoville Police Department where Gempel came in for an interview on Nov. 20, 2012. About an hour into that interview, Gempel was arrested and charged with killing his neighbor.

Court documents reflect that Gempel had been borrowing money on numerous instances from the elderly woman next door. Her relatives had tried to persuade Dumyahn to stop giving him money.

Besides the gash near the defendant's right eye, detective Talbot talked about the other photos he took. One showed fresh scratch marks on the underside of Gempel's arms.

The jury also saw a photo of the defendant's chest. Talbot pointed out how the left side of Gempel's abdomen contained "two scratch marks" or "red marks."

During cross-examination, one of Gempel's public defenders tried to poke holes in Talbot's testimony.

"Did you take photos of anyone else?"

"No," Talbot answered.

"Did you ask anyone else to take off their shirt?"

"No," he replied.

"Remove their clothes in any other way?"

"No," he repeated.

Gempel's trial resumes in Judge Carlson's courtroom around 9 a.m. Thursday. The murder trial is not expected to finish until sometime next week. Representing the Will County State's Attorney's Office are Michael Fitzgerald, Christopher Koch and Elizabeth Domagalla. Gempel's lawyers are from the Will County Public Defender's Office, assistant public defenders Lea Norbut and Eric Berg.

Image of Bruce Gempel via Will County Sheriff's Department