Trial to begin Monday for man accused of murdering prominent Edwardsville attorney
A 30-year-old Missouri man will face a jury next week in the murder of a prominent Edwardsville attorney and philanthropist.
Timothy Banowetz is accused of stabbing to death Randy Gori, 47, at Gori’s rural home and stealing cash, two cellphones and a Rolls-Royce Cullinan SUV on Jan. 4, 2020.
The trial is expected to begin with jury selection on Monday in Madison County Circuit Court in Edwardsville. That will follow an 11 a.m. hearing on a request by a St. Louis TV station to live-stream testimony.
“I don’t know of any other trial since I’ve been on the bench that has had as many media requests as this one,” said Chief Judge Bill Mudge.
Judge Kyle Napp is presiding over the trial.
Madison County Public Defender Mary Copeland, who is representing Banowetz, expects opening arguments and the presentation of evidence to begin Tuesday afternoon.
“In talking to the prosecution, we’re hopeful that this will be all done in one week,” she said Thursday.
Public to watch on closed-circuit TV
The trial will take place at the Madison County Criminal Justice Center. Attendance will be limited to court staff, the defendant, his attorneys, prosecutors, two members of Gori’s family, two members of Banowetz’s family and designated media representatives, Mudge said.
The public can watch the trial on closed-circuit TV in one or two courtrooms set aside in the Madison County Courthouse.
“(The court has) to spread out the jurors because of COVID restrictions, and that takes up space,” Mudge said. “I know that Judge Napp is limiting the number of people who can be in there.”
Banowetz lived in Wenzville, Missouri, and later St. Louis, but authorities believe he was homeless at the time of his arrest on Gori’s property the morning after the murder. He had recently been enrolled at St. Louis College of Pharmacy and reportedly was having money problems.
Banowetz has been held without bond at the Madison County Jail on charges of first-degree murder, armed robbery, aggravated unlawful restraint and an offense related to vehicle theft.
The case is being prosecuted by the office of State’s Attorney Tom Haine. The lead prosecutor is Assistant State’s Attorney Jacob Harlow, who is working with Assistant State’s Attorney Lauren Maricle, chief of the office’s violent crimes unit.
“Our office has no public comments on this case at this time,” Haine spokesman Philip Lasseigne said Thursday.
Evidence includes internet searches
Recent court filings shed light on the prosecution’s case, aside from evidence collected at the murder scene, interviews with witnesses and security-camera footage.
Prosecutors plan to introduce Google records and Banowetz’s internet searches on Gori and related addresses and the Herschend family.
“The court had reserved ruling as the admissibility of the (defendant’s) search using the terms serial killer and rules said terms and subsequent search are inadmissible,” according to a Sept. 22 hearing summary.
Banowetz originally was represented by former Madison County Public Defender John Rekowski and his first assistant, Neil Hawkins, who retired in November and March, respectively.
Copeland was appointed to take Rekowski’s place. She’s working with Assistant Public Defender Delani Hemmer on the Banowetz case.
Copeland declined to discuss defense strategy on Thursday.
She did address a recent defense motion, asking Knapp not to allow prosecutors to show Gori’s autopsy photos to jurors during the trial. The judge ruled that most can be shown.
“Our argument was that cause of death is not in question, and that (the photos) would just be inflammatory to the jury,” Copeland said.
Second murder in less than a year
The Gori murder was the second murder in Edwardsville in less than a year. Lois Ladd, 68, a local chiropractor, and her husband, Michael, 79, a general contractor, were stabbed to death on March 16 or 17, 2019, in their Edwardsville home.
Zachary Capers, now 26, is facing first-degree murder charges in that case. His next court date is Oct. 18. He formerly lived in Glen Carbon and Collinsville, but authorities believe he also was homeless at the time of his arrest. Prosecutors haven’t publicly discussed a motive.
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, former Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Gibbons announced that Banowetz was being charged.
Banowetz had been apprehended 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, 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.
Editor’s note: This story was updated on Oct. 4 to correct the family name Herschend, which was misspelled in court records.
This story was originally published October 1, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
