Illinois Jury Sentences Brian Dugan to Death for the 1983 Murder of Jeanine Nicarico, a Case That Sent Others to Prison
Dugan, already serving life for two other murders, had pleaded guilty in July. Other men were wrongly convicted of the killing before DNA evidence pointed to him.
Published
Other men were wrongly convicted of the 1983 murder of 10-year-old Jeanine Nicarico. On November 11, 2009, a DuPage County jury sentenced Brian Dugan, who had pleaded guilty to the killing, to death.
Jeanine was abducted from her family's Naperville home on February 25, 1983, and her body was found two days later in a nearby nature preserve. Dugan, 53, pleaded guilty in July 2009 after prosecutors refused to take the death penalty off the table. The jury reached its decision after a six-week penalty phase and two days of deliberations; on the first night it announced a verdict, then withdrew the announcement and kept deliberating. Dugan showed no reaction as the verdict was read. "At least we have the satisfaction of knowing Brian Dugan is on Death Row, a place he did not want to be," said Jeanine's mother, Patty Nicarico.
Dugan was already serving life sentences for the murders of Donna Schnorr, 27, and Melissa Ackerman, 7. In 1985 he admitted the Nicarico killing, and that admission, along with DNA evidence, helped exonerate Rolando Cruz and Alejandro Hernandez, who had been convicted of it. Former Gov. George Ryan cited the case as one of several behind his 2000 decision to halt executions in Illinois, and the moratorium was still in place when Dugan was sentenced.
ABC7 Chicago reported that the jury deliberated for 10 hours, while UPI reported that the verdict came after 11 hours of deliberation.
Sources
- Brian Dugan Sentenced to Death, NBC Chicago
- Dugan sentenced to death row, ABC7 Chicago
- Dugan sentenced to death in Illinois, UPI