Judge Tosses Murder Conviction In Morton Grove Student's Killing

MURPHYSBORO, IL — A Jackson County judge has thrown out the conviction of a man found guilty in June of murdering a college student from Morton Grove. Instead of facing down a possible sentence of decades behind bars, the man convicted earlier this year of killing the Niles West High School grad in February 2014 was released on bail Monday ahead of a retrial expected to take place next year.

A jury convicted 24-year-old Eldorado resident Gaege Bethune of first-degree murder in the death of Pravin Varughese, a 19-year-old Southern Illinois University sophomore who was found dead in February 2014. Five days before his Varughese's body was found, prosecutors said, the two had gotten into a drunken fight over money for drugs that ended with Bethune leaving an injured Varughese to die in a in a wooded area off Route 13 in Carbondale.

Judge Mark Clark vacated the jury's verdict at a hearing Monday in response to motions from Bethune's new lawyers to overturn his conviction, the Southern Illinoisan reported. Chicago-based defense attorney Steven Greenberg said the judge agreed with him that jurors was given improper instructions during the trial. The judge agreed and ordered the release of Bethune, who had been awaiting sentencing.

"I give great credit to the judge because his big thing was he wants to make sure that Gaege has a fair trial and we reached the right result," Greenberg told KFVS-TV after Monday's hearing.

"We would have been happier if he'd have just found him not guilty," he said. "[Judge Clark] had his reasons why he thinks the law is on the prosecution's side, we think he's wrong."

Greenberg's motion had argued Bethune was wrongfully convicted and that an aggravated battery resulting in a death cannot be the basis for a felony murder and pointed out the jury found Bethune not guilty of robbery. The defense also argued that prosecutors lacked evidence for claims during the trial that Varughese had suffered a concussion before running into the woods, according to the Southern Illinoisan.

Special prosecutor David Robinson said the judge's ruling was based on a problem with the placement of the word "knowingly" in Bethune's grand jury indictment, according to KFVS.

Earlier: Sentencing Delayed In Murder Of Morton Grove Student »

Read More: Man Murdered Morton Grove SIU Student In 2014, Jury Finds »

Greenberg said the killing was not a murder and the jury had not been given proper instructions.

“As long as they found Gaege had touched this kid, he was guilty of murder,” he said, according to the Southern.

Varughese's mother, whose push for a new autopsy led to the eventual charges and attended every day of the two-week trial, told the Chicago Tribune she had hoped Monday would be the last time she would have to make the six-hour drive to downstate Jackson County. She vowed to return.

Bethune's father described the chance for a new trial for his son as a blessing.

“We all believe you’ve got to do things right and things will come back right,” he told the Southern.

No date for a retrial has been set, but Greenberg said he expects it to take place next year.

Earlier:

• Murder Trial In Morton Grove Student's 2014 Death Enters Second Week
  
• Trial Begins Over 2014 Death Of Morton Grove SIU Student
• SIU Student From Morton Grove Beaten, Robbed Before Death: Indictment