Harrah's Murder Defendant Takes Stand, Then Changes Mind

JOLIET, IL — Joliet Harrah's Casino first-degree murder defendant Robert Watson became the second witness called to testify Monday by the Will County Public Defender's Office, but Watson's time on the witness stand only lasted a few minutes.

When public defender Jaya Varghese called her client to the stand, that prompted Will County Sheriff's deputies assigned to courtroom security to re-position themselves. One sheriff's deputy moved himself near the witness stand, since Watson was now sitting only a few feet away from the jury.

The Joliet transient is accused of fatally stabbing Wisconsin sports bar owner Sam Burgarino in the fifth floor hotel hallway of Harrah's Casino on the night of March 24, 2019. The three public defenders handling Watson's case have presented an insanity defense for Watson.

On Monday afternoon, the jury heard Watson repeat that his name is Robert Watson.

"I grew up in Chicago," Watson told the courtroom. "I did really well in school."

Then, out of nowhere, Watson blurted out he wanted to read a letter for the jury.

"I know you've got a lot to say," remarked Will County Judge Dave Carlson, who has presided over Watson's murder case since Watson's arrest four years and two months ago.

The judge dismissed the jury for several minutes as he and the lawyers contemplated whether to allow Watson to read a letter he brought with him to the courtroom Monday.

"It's a letter I wrote for the court to hear," Watson told Judge Carlson.

Varghese told the judge she did not know about Watson's letter. The same was true for prosecutors Tom Slazyk and Will Lite.

"Judge, we did not see it," one of the lawyers remarked. "I would ask that it be barred unless we see it."

"I typed the letter," Watson declared.

Outside the jury's presence, Carlson allowed Watson the opportunity to read his letter.

The letter, it turned out, repeated Watson's long-standing unsubstantiated claims that Watson has made in Carlson's courtroom since his arrest on March 25, 2019. Watson has claimed that people at the Will County Jail have been poisoning his food trays.

In the letter read Monday, Watson claimed his jail food has been poisoned and that the odors smell of sexual intercourse, urine, blood and spit, among other things.

Watson renewed his request to obtain an order of protection in order to bring criminal charges against the people responsible for poisoning his food back at the jail.

"Judge, I would ask that my client not be allowed to read that statement," Varghese urged Carlson.

Carlson reminded those in the courtroom that he has already dealt with this issue, about a year ago, calling for an independent investigation into whether Watson's food was being poisoned. In 2022, Carlson allowed Watson the chance to file an order of protection petition, and the merits of Watson's allegations were handled by a different Will County judge.

Last year's protection order petition was then dismissed.

"I consulted with a warden, and they assured me that the concerns Mr. Watson raised were not founded," Carlson told everyone Monday, outside the jury's presence.

As for the letter Watson wanted to read to the jury, "It's not relevant to the proceedings," Carlson declared. "Mr. Watson, what you're saying, it's a collateral issue you raised ... It's not appropriate to present to the jury. We still have to follow the rules of evidence.

"Mr. Watson, do you want to continue to testify to the questions Ms. Varghese is asking you?" Carlson inquired.

"No," Watson answered.

And with that, Watson stood up and left the witness stand.

He returned to his seat at the defense table. When the jury returned to the courtroom, the public defender's office recalled Joliet police evidence technician Ryan Myers to the witness stand.

Myers testified about the contents he found inside Watson's backpack at a condemned house in downtown Joliet, 350 N. Ottawa St.

Even though the house was red-tagged by the city of Joliet, Watson had been staying there, according to trial testimony. One of the items Myers recovered from Watson's backpack was a hypodermic needle, Myers testified on cross-examination.

The trial will resume at 10 a.m. Tuesday as the defense lawyers present their next witnesses.

Related Trial Coverage:

Harrah's Murder Defendant Wandered Casino For 2 Days, Slept There

Harrah's Murder Defendant Says Jail Food Poisoned

Is Harrah's Murder Defendant Faking Mental Illness?