When Southern Illinois University student Pravin
Varughese was found dead in the woods in 2014 after being missing for five
days, authorities in
The family of the 19-year-old student from
All that effort culminated late Thursday — more than four
years after Varughese’s death — with a jury’s announcement of a guilty verdict
on first-degree murder charges against Gaege Bethune. The Eldorado,
“Pravin’s day finally came. He can rest in peace now,” his
mother, Lovely Varughese, told the Tribune by phone from
Lovely Varughese, who led the family’s push for answers, had
been up most of the night after the jury announced its verdict at close to 11
p.m. Thursday, receiving calls of support from as far away as
She and her family stayed in
When the verdict finally came down, “this was really overwhelming … it was very emotional,” Varughese said, noting there were tears flowing in both families, hers and Bethune’s. The 23-year-old defendant had been free on bail while awaiting trial, but after he was convicted Thursday, his bond was revoked and he was taken to jail. He faces 20 to 60 years in prison.
Throughout the trial, she said, Bethune's defense attorney,
former
Wepsiec said Friday morning he intends to seek a new trial, saying the injuries found on Pravin Varughese should never have led to a murder conviction for his client.
“We’re certainly going to file a motion for a new trial and see what we can do with that,” he said. “Right now I think we’re all in shock at the verdict of guilty on the felony murder based on the aggravated battery. The evidence does not support that.”
Prosecutor David Robinson said he was pleased with the verdict, and believed the jurors took their time and thoughtfully considered the case. But he also offered a broader assessment of the trial and the events that led up to it.
“The fact of the matter is it’s not a good situation for anyone,” Robinson said. “I don’t think anybody’s happy. Two families have experienced a loss here.”
Prosecutors said Bethune and Varughese, a Niles West High graduate, were intoxicated when the two fought and Bethune beat and robbed Varughese before he wandered into the woods on the frigid night.
Wepsiec had argued that only superficial bruises were found on Varughese's body and $24 was in his wallet.
But the first-degree murder verdict was a stunning reversal from authorities’ early view that there was no indication of foul play and that Varughese’s death was the result of hypothermia.
From his family’s view, there were too many questions. According to their own statements, police knew early on that he’d had a dispute with a man — later publicly identified as Bethune — before wandering into the woods, where he was found in only jeans and a shirt despite single-digit temperatures. And late that night he posted a tweet that read: “Bloody knuckles ... guess I was in a fight #backdown.”
An Illinois State Police report also revealed early on that a trooper came across Bethune’s vehicle at just after midnight the same evening, and that Bethune had a red mark on his face and told the officer that a man he’d offered a ride to punched him and then ran into the woods. The officer scanned the woods and then left, the report stated. There was apparently no follow-up, though state police said at the time that the trooper might not have been aware of a subsequent missing-person report on Varughese.
In his mother’s mind, justice has finally been served. Even before she knew the outcome, “I was pretty peaceful,” she said, crediting in part the members of her extended family and many local residents who attended the trial, in some cases taking time off work.
“The amount of people that came into the courtroom every day to support us was … unbelievable,” she said. “(There are) so many for whom justice is denied in this area, and they are all looking up to us and this gives them hope. … The way these people come and hug you. They are really thanking us for taking that extra step to go this far.”
This warning from President Obama should be taken very seriously. Repulibcans have clearly given up the idea that they want a democracy in this country and if we don't stop them, they are going to turn American into a dictatorship. Honestly, I think they have already turned the US into a kleptocracy and they aim to keep it that way, over our dead bodies if need be.
it always lurks in a corner of memories like a coiled Serpent.
Time may give it a mudbath,
a temporary therapeutic feeling.
The mind may respond to the pain with a different attitude
but the Scars are like Tattoos in mind.
So be careful in each deed and word not to inflict a wound on anyone.
ഇത് മുന് കുട്ടി തീരുമാനിച്ച് ചെയ്തതല്ല. മാത്രമല്ല കൊല്ലണമെന്ന ഉദ്ധേശവും കാണില്ല. അങ്ങനെയൊക്കെ സംഭവിച്ചു എന്നു മാത്രം. ഇതൊക്കെ ഇന്ത്യയില് പരിഗണിക്കും. അമേരിക്കയില് അതൊനുമില്ല. കഴിവതും നിയമം പാലിച്ചു ജീവിക്കണം എന്നു ഈ കേസ് ഓര്മ്മിപ്പിക്കുന്നു