Prosecutors turn over long list of evidence in murder of Edwardsville attorney
Madison County public defenders have started poring over evidence collected by investigators in the case of Timothy Banowetz, who was charged in the Jan. 4 stabbing death of attorney Randy Gori at his rural Edwardsville home.
On Feb. 18, State’s Attorney Tom Gibbons’ office turned over documents, photos and other “supplemental discovery,” including videotaped interviews with more than 30 people and surveillance footage from a church, a bar and two stores.
“If we did nothing but discovery, it would probably take us two full weeks,” said Public Defender John Rekowski, who was appointed to represent Banowetz, 28, of Wentzville, Missouri. “There’s that many police reports and videos and this, that and the other.”
On Feb. 10, Circuit Court Judge Kyle Napp granted a motion by Assistant State’s Attorney Jacob Harlow to proceed with DNA testing that will “consume” certain biological specimens in their entirety, over defense objections.
According to the Jan. 22 motion, Banowetz had blood stains on his clothing and an injury to his right hand when he was arrested; and investigators took blood samples from the console and door of Gori’s 2020 Rolls-Royce SUV Cullinan, which was found abandoned on Zita Lane after the murder.
“The samples recovered from the swabs are of such a small amount that proper DNA testing requires that the entire sample be consumed during the testing procedure,” the motion stated.
On Feb. 25, the state’s attorney’s office filed paperwork with more discovery, labeled as a “CD Laboratory report” with 124 pages that are not available for public viewing.
Parents seek meeting
Police found Gori dead about 9 p.m. Jan. 4 in his home at 4586 Mooney Creek Lane, northeast of Edwardsville. They called in the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis to investigate.
On Jan. 6, Gibbons announced that Banowetz had been charged with first-degree murder, armed robbery, vehicle theft and unlawful restraint. He had been apprehended the morning of Jan. 5 in woods about 1,200 feet from the Gori home.
According to charging documents, Banowetz bound the hands of Gori and two minors before using a knife to stab Gori to death, then he stole cash and two cellphones and fled in the Rolls-Royce.
“In my 22 years in law enforcement, I have seen many gruesome crimes,” Madison County Sheriff’s Department Capt. David Vucich said at the time as Major Case Squad commander. “This one rises to the top in its level of heinousness.”
On Feb. 14, Randy Gori’s parents, Lee and Judy Gori, filed a Notice of Victim’s Assertion of Rights, claiming basic rights guaranteed for crime victims under the Illinois Constitution. At the bottom is a handwritten note, asking for a private meeting with Gibbons to “listen and answer our questions.”
It’s not unusual for prosecutors to meet with crime victims, according to Taylor Donohoo, spokeswoman for the state’s attorney’s office. Victim’s advocates also are assigned to families in murder cases.
“That’s just part of the process,” Donohoo said. “It’s important to keep them involved.”
More than 30 interviews
Banowetz’s defense is being handled by First Assistant Madison County Public Defender Neil Hawkins. The discovery he received from the state’s attorney’s office on Feb. 18 included:
- An audio recording of the 911 call at 8:56 p.m. Jan. 4.
- Photos and surveillance video from the crime scene, including interior and exterior shots of Gori’s residence.
Video of Banowetz being arrested and photos of him in custody.
Videos shot in Edwardsville Police Department vehicles.
- Photos of vehicles, including Gori’s Rolls-Royce.
- Photos of Caroline Kasa and her vehicle at the scene and a videotaped interview with her.
- A Hamel Police Department video of the Rolls-Royce at the Illinois 157-140 intersection.
Photos of water bottles from the Rolls-Royce.
- Photos of the suspect’s driver’s license and flashlight.
Transport video footage.
- Autopsy photos taken by the Madison County coroner’s office.
- Videotaped interviews with Randy’s mother, his wife, Beth, and two minors identified only by initials.
- A videotaped interview with Banowetz.
- Videotaped interviews with his parents, Kevin and Julie Banowetz, and two brothers, Brad and Jonathan.
- Audio recordings and videos of interviews with nearly 25 other people.
- A video of an SD (secure digital) card search.
- Photos of “property from STL cop.”
- Drone footage, photos and map of the Mooney Creek Lane area.
Photos of a jacket on Illinois 157.
- Walmart photos, videos and documents, including video of Timothy Banowetz.
- Video footage from a Walgreens store; Net Community Church in Staunton; and Slotzy’s bar in Worden.
‘Just a bizarre case’
Officials believe Banowetz was homeless at the time of his arrest, but he had been attending St. Louis School of Pharmacy as recently as last fall.
Banowetz was worried about having enough money to pay his bills and worked long shifts at a blue-collar job, according to pharmacy students interviewed by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch last month. He reportedly was evicted in December from his apartment on Washington Avenue in St. Louis.
Banowetz’s parents, who live in O’Fallon, Missouri, hadn’t seen him in two and a half years, according to St. Louis attorney Greg Wittner, who they hired to release a Jan. 10 public statement expressing their shock and sympathy for the Gori family.
Rekowski, who has been in contact with the Banowetzes in recent weeks, called them “very concerned.”
“This is just a bizarre case,” he said Thursday. “I’m mystified as a legal professional and based on my life experiences in this job, and I think they’re mystified because this is not the son they know.”
Wittner could not be reached for comment this week.
This story was originally published February 28, 2020 at 12:36 PM.
