Guilty Verdict In Harrah's Murder Trial Of Robert Watson

JOLIET, IL — In the end, 12 jurors at the Will County Courthouse came to a unanimous decision: Robert Watson, the homeless Joliet man, was guilty of first-degree murder, but he was deemed mentally ill by the jury. The decision was announced in Judge Dave Carlson's courtroom around 10:50 a.m. in the death of 76-year-old Wisconsin sports bar owner Sam Burgarino.

Will County State's Attorney Jim Glasgow announced that even though the jury also found Watson mentally ill, it will not affect his serving his ultimate prison sentence. Burgarino had been stabbed 26 times and died from injuries. Burgarino had been carrying a large amount of cash, and evidence showed that he had been pepper sprayed before the violent attack, according to Glasgow.

Watson's three public defenders argued that their client was not guilty by reason of insanity.

Because of Friday's verdict, Watson will be able to receive mental health treatment while he is assigned to the Illinois Department of Corrections, according to one of Will County's chief prosecutors, Peter Wilkes. The trial was handled by Assistant Will County State's Attorneys Will Lite and Tom Slazyk.

The public defenders for Watson were Shenonda Tisdale, Jaya Varghese and Andrew Sanchez.

Tisdale remarked during closing arguments that when she reviewed the Harrah's Casino video surveillance cameras after the murder, Watson is holding his writing papers, covered in blood, as he runs out a casino door, setting off an alarm, on the night of March 24, 2019.

"He's holding papers in his hands, more of (the) crazy thoughts ... just none of it makes any sense," Tisdale argued. "This just never should have happened."

Tisdale urged the jury to find her client not guilty of murder, or not guilty of murder by reason of by reason of insanity. Burgarino was fatally stabbed near his hotel room on the fifth floor of the downtown Joliet casino.

"There's been no motive established," she said. "No money missing from Mr. Burgarino, and yet the state wants you to believe there was a motive when there was not."

One possibility, Tisdale offered, is that in her client's delusional mind, Watson "believed was Mr. Burgarino was part of the mob or some sort of spirit."

Wilkes told Patch that Watson will have to serve his prison sentence at 100 percent, based on the enhance penalties associated with the crime. The murder victim was a senior citizen.

Judge Carlson will sentence Watson to 20 to 100 years when the sentencing for Watson takes place July 31.

Prosecutors argued that Watson has been faking his mental illness in order to avoid the consequences of his actions in the brutal stabbing death. Public defenders argued that their client has suffered for the 10 years from untreated schizophrenia.

In Friday's press release, Glasgow announced that the victim’s blood was found on the Air Jordan gym shoes Watson was wearing at the time of the arrest, as well as on the knife, the striped pants and a sweatshirt he had been wearing. Also, blood was found on a pair of latex gloves that video surveillance had captured Watson taking before the murder from a cart inside a Harrah’s Casino stairwell.

Watson had pepper spray in his possession at the time he was arrested.