Murder Trial In Morton Grove Student's 2014 Death Enters 2nd Week

MURPHYSBORO, IL — Prosecutors in the murder trial of a man charged with murder in the 2014 death of a college student from Morton Grove are wrapping up their case this week at the Jackson County Courthouse. Gaege Bethune, 23, is accused of killing and robbing Pravin Varughese, a 19-year-old Southern Illinois University student whose body was found in the woods behind a Buffalo Wild Wings off of Illinois Route 13 after the two were together in Bethune's truck following a party in Carbondale on the night of Feb. 12, 2014.

Last week, jurors watched recorded statements from Bethune admitting to lying about picking up a "black hitchhiker" but insisting he was the victim of a robbery that night. Prosecution witnesses testified that Bethune appeared to be drunk on his way to a party that night, according to WSIL-TV.

The host of the party testified she told Bethune to leave several times because he made her uncomfortable. After the encounter with Varughese, Bethune texted a girl who was 16 at the time and asked if she wanted to do cocaine with him. However, there never was any cocaine and he was allegedly so drunk she had to assist him into his dad's house.

Now 20, the Cambria woman testified that she noticed Bethune's knuckles had been cut open, according to the Southern Illinoisan.

Murder Trial Begins Over 2014 Death Of Morton Grove SIU Student »

On Monday, jurors heard from each of the three doctors who conducted autopsies on Varughese. The first autopsy, performed by Dr. John Jacobi, found the cause of death was hypothermia but the manner of death was undetermined. A second autopsy performed a few days later by Dr. Ben Margolis suggested Varughese's death should have been ruled a homicide, with blunt force trauma to his head contributing to his death. The first autopsy noted scratches and bruising but attributed them to running through the woods before dying, WSIL reported.

SIU Student From Morton Grove Beaten And Robbed Before Death: Indictment »

Defense attorney Mike Wepsiec argued that Margolis was not board certified and that the body had been damaged from the initial autopsy and embalmed by the time he examined it. A third doctor who examined both reports, Dr. Scott Denton, testified that the blunt force trauma Varughese suffered to his forehead would have healed had he not suffered hypothermia.

Read more from the Southern Illinoisan: State Trooper Takes Stand, Friends Testify In Bethune Murder Trial; Pathologists Testify About Conflicting Autopsies