Where do Edwardsville murder cases stand after an election, a retirement and a pandemic?
Edwardsville was reeling in January 2020 over the discovery of a second murder scene in less than a year, resulting in the death of a third prominent resident and arrest of a second homeless suspect.
Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, changing the way Madison County Circuit Court does business and leading to the delay of trials, hearings and other legal procedures.
Then county voters elected a new state’s attorney, switching the prosecutor’s office from Democrat to Republican control and shaking up its staff. Then the public defender retired, leading to new representation for both defendants in the murder cases.
All these changes have raised questions for State’s Attorney Tom Haine, who expressed confidence Friday that justice will be done.
“We’re on track,” he said. “We intend to aggressively prosecute these cases. Of course, COVID caused a pause, but these are top-priority cases. As the courts reopen, we intend to put the pedal to the metal with these cases and all the significant cases that have impacted Madison County.”
A “firm” trial date of Oct. 18 has been set for Zachary Capers, according to court records. The former Glen Carbon and Collinsville man is accused of stabbing to death chiropractor Lois Ladd, 68, and her husband, Michael Ladd, 79, a general contractor, in their Edwardsville home on March 16 or 17, 2019.
A decision is pending on the trial date for Timothy Banowetz, formerly of St. Louis and Wentzville, Missouri. He’s accused of stabbing to death attorney and philanthropist Randy Gori, 47, in his rural Edwardsville home on Jan. 4, 2020.
A pretrial hearing on the Banowetz case was held March 19.
“There was a determination made that the state and the defense were not ready to proceed,” Chief Judge Bill Mudge said Thursday. “I think they’re waiting on a report from Dr. Cuneo.”
Dr. Daniel Cuneo is a court psychologist who often assesses the mental state of defendants.
Another pretrial hearing on the Banowetz case is scheduled for May 26. It’s believed that a trial date will be set at that time, according to Mudge.
Both Capers, 25, and Banowetz, 29, are facing first-degree murder charges and being held at the Madison County Jail without bond. Prosecutors have publicly offered no motive in the Capers case. Banowetz allegedly stole money, two cellphones and a Rolls-Royce SUV Cullinan.
Jury trials halted for a year
The COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020 and closed courthouses across Illinois to all but essential business, such as orders of protection. But prosecutors, defense attorneys and other staff gradually began developing remote methods to advance cases, Mudge said.
The main void involved jury trials. None were held in Madison County from March through August.
“We could not safely conduct jury trials in the midst of a pandemic,” Mudge said, noting one problem was the traditional system of bringing in large jury pools for screening.
As COVID-19 positivity rates fell, one courtroom opened in September with new safety protocols, but only one jury trial was held before a second coronavirus wave led to another seven-month moratorium.
Last spring, the Illinois Supreme Court temporarily suspended the constitutional right to a speedy trial for criminal defendants due to COVID-19.
That suspension may have adversely affected some local defendants sitting in jail waiting for trial, Mudge said, but it didn’t have as much impact on more complicated murder cases such as Capers’ and Banowetz’s that involve psychiatric evaluations and questions about fitness to stand trial.
“I don’t think either of those defendants or their attorneys wanted to proceed to jury trials during this shutdown period,” Mudge said.
Madison County resumed holding trials last week with decentralized jury selection, mask and social-distancing requirements, capacity limits in courtrooms, plexiglass barriers and hand-sanitizing stations. The public can watch on closed-circuit TV from other areas.
Will the public be allowed in the courtroom for the Capers trial in October? That depends on COVID-19, according to Mudge.
“Hopefully, everybody’s going to be vaccinated by then, and hopefully the (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and the health department will give us the green light to congregate again,” he said. “If that’s the case, it will proceed as normal.”
Personnel changes on both sides
Haine, a Republican, was elected Madison County state’s attorney in November, replacing Tom Gibbons, a Democrat who left to run for circuit judge. Haine defeated Crystal Uhe, first assistant under Gibbons.
The day after Haine took office in December, he fired Uhe, who had been prosecuting the Capers and Banowetz cases with Assistant State’s Attorney Jacob Harlow.
Haine kept on Harlow, who is now working with Assistant State’s Attorney Lauren Maricle, chief of the office’s violent crimes unit.
“We’re confident about these cases,” Haine said Friday. “These are good cases. We’re going to put them before a fact-finder (jury), and we’re very, very confident about the result.”
Banowetz and Capers had been represented by Madison County Public Defender John Rekowski and his first assistant, Neil Hawkins. But Rekowski retired at the end of November after more than 40 years in the office.
Rekowski sent letters to Banowetz and Capers on Oct. 9, 2020, informing them that he was leaving and turning over their cases to Hawkins.
Circuit judges voted to replace Rekowski with Assistant Public Defender Mary Copeland, who had been serving in the office since graduating from law school in 2003. She’s the first woman to lead it.
Hawkins retired in March. Copeland put Assistant Public Defender Tyler Bateman in charge of Capers’ defense. Copeland will represent Banowetz.
Copeland declined to comment on the Edwardsville murder cases last week but addressed the general effect of COVID-19 on operations in the public defender’s office.
“The serious cases that are likely to go to trial have not (gone to trial),” Copeland said. “But that doesn’t mean we haven’t been working on them. It just means we haven’t had the opportunity to even set trial dates.
“We’re just now starting trials back up. We are under COVID protocols, so it requires us to be spread out, and the jurors to be spread out, and there’s one courtroom where they’re doing that.”
Victim missed at work
The bodies of Lois and Michael Ladd were found stabbed to death on Monday morning, March 18, 2019, in their home at 830 N. Kansas St. in Edwardsville. Lois Ladd’s employees called police after she failed to show up for work at her chiropractic office.
The well-known couple were last seen that Saturday at a St. Patrick’s Day party at the Stagger Inn Again restaurant and bar.
The Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis was brought in to investigate. At that point, the Madison County Sheriff’s Department already had arrested Capers on an outstanding warrant in an unrelated incident March 17 in Worden. Police later linked him to the Ladd case.
Capers was charged with four counts of first-degree murder on March 19, 2020.
“This is a brutal and heinous murder,” Gibbons said at a news conference. “(The Ladds) are absolutely innocent and wonderful people, whose lives are lost and who leave behind an amazing family, a tremendous number of friends and community members who know and love them.”
Capers pleaded “not guilty” at his April arraignment after a grand jury indicted him.
Officials believe Capers was homeless at the time of his arrest. His long, but largely non-violent police record included charges ranging from forgery to misdemeanor assault, trespass to possession of a stolen vehicle. He also had been issued warnings for loitering and not paying for restaurant meals.
Some reports involved odd, suspicious or disruptive behavior and one voluntary transfer to a hospital with an inpatient psychiatric unit.
“Until I have a little more information, I don’t know how we’ll approach the defense,” Rekowski said in March of 2019. “But I’ve had the opportunity to talk to (Capers) and some of his family members, and I do think there are some serious mental-health issues.”
Suspect stayed in vicinity
Police found Gori dead about 9 p.m. on Saturday Jan. 4, 2020, in his isolated home at 4586 Mooney Creek Lane, northeast of Edwardsville. They called in the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis to investigate.
The following Monday, Gibbons announced that Banowetz was being charged with first-degree murder, armed robbery, aggravated unlawful restraint and an offense related to vehicle theft. Banowetz had been apprehended Sunday morning in a wooded area about 1,200 feet from the Gori home.
According to the charges, Banowetz bound the hands of Gori and two minor children before using a knife to stab Gori to death, then 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.”
Banowetz pleaded “not guilty” at his arrangement later in January 2020 after being indicted by a grand jury.
Officials believe Banowetz was homeless at the time of his arrest, but he had been attending St. Louis School of Pharmacy as recently as fall semester in 2019.
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. He reportedly had been evicted from his apartment on Washington Avenue.
Banowetz’s parents and two younger brothers hadn’t seen him for two and a half years, according to the family’s attorney, who released the following statement after his arrest:
“Our heartfelt prayers go out to Randy Gori, his family, and the community impacted by this harm and destruction. It’s unimaginable the pain that must be felt. Our family is grieving and seeking answers as well. Timothy has been estranged from the family and we are shocked to have discovered him in this way.
“We are praying that love is shown to those hurting and that wisdom is given to those seeking the truth.”
This story was originally published April 14, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
