Crime & Safety

Son Pleads Not Guilty to Mom's Murder in Burr Ridge

Michael Zaky Bassaly was arraigned during a short hearing Friday morning in Wheaton.

The man charged with the murder of his mother outside a Burr Ridge church has pleaded not guilty.

Michael Zaky Bassaly, 27, of the 2000 block of Prentiss Drive, Downers Grove, went before Judge Daniel Guerin Friday morning for a brief arraignment hearing, and via attorney Marc Wolfe entered a plea of not guilty to first-degree murder.

Bassaly, who was in an orange jumpsuit and handcuffs, did not speak during the hearing.

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Bassaly is charged with shooting to death his mother, 61-year-old Yvonne Bassaly, in the parking lot of St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church in Burr Ridge during the early morning hours of Aug. 29.

READ: Man Charged With Murdering Own Mother in Burr Ridge Shooting

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Prosecutors called the murder "cold, calculated and premeditated." If Bassaly is found guilty, they said, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.  

Prosecutors said during an Aug. 30 bond hearing that Bassaly was the subject of a Department of Homeland Security investigation related to fake asylum documents found in his possession.

READ: Accused Murderer May Have Posed as Lawyer, Written Asylum Letters

Bassaly said he was planning to kill himself and his mother because he would likely spend the rest of his life in prison or be hurt by someone in the Egyptian community as a result of the false documents, prosecutors said at the bond hearing.

Bassaly told police that he shared with his mother his plans to die, and afterward she said they should go pray at St. Mark's. If his intention was to kill her, then he should do it, Bassaly said his mother told him. But he would later give conflicting statements, saying that the gun just went off.

Guerin set Bassaly's next court date for Oct. 18.

Charles Menchaca contributed to this report.

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