Katie Kearns' Death: Prosecutors Lose Another Pretrial Ruling

JOLIET, IL — In another setback for State's Attorney Jim Glasgow and his prosecutors, a Will County judge has ruled for a second time that an expert witness for murder defendant Jeremy Boshears can tell a jury that Katie Kearns did not die as the result of a homicide.

At this month's upcoming trial, the expert witness will be permitted to tell a Will County jury that the 24-year-old Kearns died in November 2017 inside the Joliet Outlaws clubhouse as the result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to her head.

In Thursday's ruling, Will County Circuit Judge Vincent Cornelius rejected a motion from the Will County State's Attorney's Office asking the judge to reconsider his earlier decision.

The judge, however, ruled against the Will County State's Attorney's Office once again.

In doing so, Cornelius is allowing the forensic expert from Larsen Forensics & Associates in Glen Ellyn to testify that based on the expert's analysis of the case, Kearns died as a result of putting a gun against her head and pulling the trigger.

After dying inside the Joliet Outlaws clubhouse in the Ingalls Park area, somebody loaded Kearns' body into the back of her Jeep Wrangler. Her body was driven about an hour away and left inside a pole barn in rural Kankakee County near St. Anne.

After finding Kearns' body inside her Jeep Wrangler, the Will County Sheriff's Office charged Boshears with first-degree murder and concealing of a homicide.

Boshears is being represented by Joliet criminal defense attorney Chuck Bretz. After being in jail for nearly four years, Boshears will stand trial on Oct. 25 in Will County Courtroom 404.

The main Will County assistant state's attorneys who were in Judge Cornelius' courtroom for last week's ruling were Marie Czech, Dan Egan and Steven Platek.

During last week's proceedings, Bretz told the judge that the three Will County prosecutors were essentially re-arguing the same arguments they made earlier when Cornelius ruled against them in August.

"This is just another attempt to get another bite at the apple," Bretz argued in court. "This is nothing new. It's the same thing (being) regurgitated."

Czech told the judge that the defense expert witness, Arthur Borchers should not be allowed to tell the jury that Kearns died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in November 2017. Borchers retired after 30 years with the Oak Park Police Department where he was an evidence technician, detective and sergeant in both the patrol and investigations divisions.

"It's beyond his expertise to say who pulled the trigger," Czech argued last week in front of Cornelius. "It's not something an expert can testify to. That's an inference."

The fatal gunshot wound to Kearns' head was described as a contact wound, and the defense's expert witness determined there was no way for the defendant "to be on the other side of her."

"They can certainly cross-examine Mr. Borchers until their heart's content," Bretz suggested.