Murder Charges Dismissed In 2014 Death Of Morton Grove Student

MURPHYSBORO, IL — Prosecutors asked to dismiss charges against a man whose murder conviction in the death of a Southern Illinois University student from Morton Grove was vacated on appeal. Following a judge's decision to toss a jury's guilty verdict due to the wording of jury instructions and the refusal of the Illinois Supreme Court to review that decision, special prosecutors said they will re-investigate the case from the start.

In June, a jury found Gaege Bethune, 24, of Eldorado, guilty of murdering Pravin Varughese, a Niles West High School graduate who was 19 years old and in his sophomore year at SIU when his body was found in a wooded area in Carbondale in February 2014.

Jackson County Circuit Judge Mark Clarke ruled in September on post-trial motions from Bethune's appeal team. He dismissed the conviction and ordered a new trial, which would have been expected to take place early next year.

The Illinois Supreme Court earlier this month declined to hear an appeal to the judge's ruling, the Southern Illinoisan reported. In response, prosecutors said they would review "the totality of circumstances" to decide whether to pursue new charges, which may also include jury tampering.

Varughese's death was initially ruled to be an accident caused by hypothermia. But more than three years after his body was found, an indictment charged Bethune with first-degree murder. In vacating the conviction, Clarke ruled the placement of the word "knowingly" in the indictment may have confused jurors.

Prosecutors said Bethune had been driving Varughese around in an attempt to find cocaine. The indictment charged Bethune with repeatedly punching Varughese in the head, leaving him disoriented and potentially concussed in the woods. Bethune said he initially lied to police because he had been drinking and was afraid of getting a DUI, telling investigators he had been attacked by a black man who ran off into the woods.

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Special Prosecutor Dave Neal told the Southern that he was unable to find another instance in the history of Illinois where a "jury verdict was overturned on a legally sufficient indictment because of a judge's questions regarding syntax."

Bethune was taken into custody after his conviction but released on bail following Clarke's decision to toss out the guilty verdict. He may face additional charges related to his time in custody related to an investigation into whether a social media account belonging to Bethune had been used to contact a juror, the Southern reported. In seeking to revoke Bethune's bond, Neal said Bethune had been "involved in a scheme to sell drugs from his residence with the assistance of other people" while in jail.

Lovely Varughese, Pravin's mother, said she believed the first trial had revealed the truth of her son's death after years of work. After the initial autopsy determined his death was accidental and a 2015 grand jury decided against filing criminal charges, the Varughese family commissioned its own autopsy and investigation, eventually leading to special prosecutors being assigned to the case.

“We went through almost five years of this craziness, and you know I said? We got what we wanted when Gaege Bethune sat in the witness stand and said ‘I hit him,'" Lovely Varughese told KFVS."We had the answer."

Steve Greenberg, brought on to represent Bethune during his appeal, said the jury was given improper instructions and prosecutors failed to prove their case during the trial. He said he would have preferred the judge had simply found his client not guilty.

Earlier:

• Judge Tosses Murder Conviction In Morton Grove Student's Killing
• Sentencing Delayed In Murder Of Morton Grove Student
• Man Murdered Morton Grove SIU Student In 2014, Jury Finds
• SIU Student From Morton Grove Beaten, Robbed Before Death: Indictment