Two plead guilty to Roscetti's murder -- Each defendant to serve 75 years
DGH
It was reported from Chicago, Illionois, that two Chicago men will spend decades behind
bars for the 1986 rape and murder of medical student Lori Roscetti of Springfield, under a
deal with prosecutors that spares them the prospect of execution.
Eddie Harris, 41, and Duane Roach, 49, have been jailed without bond since their February
2002 arrests and were awaiting trial. They pleaded guilty in Cook County criminal court
Thursday to a single count of murder committed during a sexual assault, and each agreed to
a prison sentence of 75 years.
In return, prosecutors dropped several other murder-related charges against the pair and
their earlier intention to seek the death penalty for Harris and Roach if they were
convicted. Judge Bertina Lampkin approved the recently struck plea deal during a brief
hearing.
Assistant state's attorney Celeste Stack said the victim's parents, John and Lora Roscetti
of Springfield, were satisfied with the agreement because it avoids a long, emotionally
draining trial and "endless appeals" by the defendants. The Roscettis feel they can "go to
their graves knowing that these men would not be out on the street," she told reporters.
"They wanted finality, and they needed finality after what they've been through," Stack
said.
The Roscettis did not travel to Chicago for Thursday's hearing. Lora Roscetti, reached by
telephone, declined to comment about the plea agreement but did not dispute the
prosecutor's remarks.
Besides the brutal nature of Lori Roscetti's death - she was abducted and beaten after
being raped repeatedly - the 18-year-old murder case gained notoriety in late 2001 when
four men originally convicted of the crime were exonerated by DNA tests. In 2002,
then-Gov. George Ryan pardoned the former defendants, who said they had been railroaded by
police and prosecutors. Three had been sentenced to life in prison.
The 23-year-old Roscetti, a Rush Medical College student who graduated from Springfield's
Southeast High School, was kidnapped early on Oct. 18, 1986, as she arrived at her Near
West Side apartment after a night of studying. Roach and Harris came upon her while
breaking into cars for drug money, Stack said while reviewing evidence that would have
been used at trial.
Some details elicited gasps from the courtroom gallery.
Stack said Harris and Roach restrained Roscetti and drove her in her own car to a remote
site where they "took turns" raping her and left traces of semen, fingerprints and other
physical evidence that link them to the crime. Even though she begged for her life, they
beat Roscetti with a brick or rock in a "brutal and heinous" manner, the prosecutor said.
Police belatedly zeroed in on Roach and Harris after receiving a tip in January 2002 from
Roach's brother. Stack said the defendant had confessed to his sibling in late 1986 when
he saw a poster publicizing the murder and bragged, "Eddie and I did that."
After their arrests, the suspects confessed to police on videotape and re-enacted the
crime for investigators, Stack said.
Harris and Roach, dressed in tan jail garb, said little during Thursday's hearing. Harris'
public defender, Lafonso Palmer, said his client, the father of a young child, has become
involved in jail ministry and acknowledges the "circumstances" and "tragedy" of the crime
and that it's "something he has to pay for."
Roach's public defender, Tony Eben, said his client has not been a problem to jailers.
Both defendants have criminal histories beyond the Roscetti slaying. Roach's crimes
include convictions in the 1970s for rape, attempted rape and robbery, Stack said.
Each man was sentenced to 75 years under 1986-era guidelines that offer inmates time off
for good behavior, which could cut by half the amount of time they actually spend in
prison. Factoring in the time they've already spent in jail, Roach and Harris could come
up for parole in about 35 years, when they are in their 70s and 80s, respectively.
Judge Lampkin told the defendants they have 30 days to withdraw their guilty pleas.
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It should be noted that two people were earlier convicted of the crime, but it was later
proven that they did not do it.