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Indian Head Park Murder

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Accused O'Laughlin Killer Returns to Court as Own Lawyer

One hearing after his pro se motion was granted, John L. Wilson received 2,600 pages of discovery documents Wednesday and his request to have his hands freed from cuffs during future proceedings will be considered in March.

The man charged with the 2011 murder of 14-year-old Lyons Township student Kelli O’Laughlin was back in court Wednesday morning, and during the first hearing since a granted pro se motion allowed John L. Wilson to represent himself, signed for thousands of pages worth of documents a defendant's lawyer would typically hold. Wilson, dressed in a yellow and green jumpsuit and surrounded by several armed guards, signed with cuffed hands four receipts acknowledging the state's turnover of about 2,600 pages of discovery documents to the defendant. The pages will be transported by law enforcement officers to the Pontiac, Ill., prison currently housing Wilson. Wilson asked presiding judge John Hynes if the documents could be mailed to him …

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Wilson's New Attorney: Client's Location 'A Problem'

The public defender assigned to represent the man accused of murdering 14-year-old Lyons Township teen Kelli O'Laughlin said that having his client nearly 100 miles away could pose a problem.

The public defender assigned to represent John L. Wilson, the man charged with stabbing 14-year-old Lyons Township teen Kelli O'Laughlin to death in her own home, met his client today for the first time. On May 15, Wilson dismissed his attorneys, Naperville-based John Paul Carroll and co-counsel Michelle Gonzalez, and asked to represent himself. It was a move that surprised even Carroll. "It's insane for a person not to have an attorney," Carroll told Patch after the May 15 hearing. "That's like asking me to rebuild my own car engine." The judge asked Wilson at the time if he wanted some time to think about his decision. "I think you need to think hard and fast. These are serious matters. I believe there is forensic evidence in this case. …

Monday, May 14, 2012

Accused O'Laughlin Killer Requests to Represent Himself, Found Fit for Trial

John L. Wilson has been indicted on 31 felony charges and faces life in prison for the first-degree murder of 14-year-old Lyons Township freshman Kelli O'Laughlin.

The man charged with the murder of an Indian Head Park teen is requesting to represent himself at trial. The attorney who had been representing him, Naperville-based John Paul Carroll is facing *disciplinary action and a possible 90-day suspension for two unrelated cases. John L. Wilson is charged with murdering 14-year-old Kelli O'Laughlin, a freshman at Lyons Township High School, after she came home from school and walked in on him burglarizing her house last October. Carroll had agreed to continue to represent Wilson through any disciplinary proceedings, because the potential disciplinary action did not disqualify him from doing so. Judge John Joseph Hynes asked Wilson today if he wanted to continue to be represented by Carroll and co-…

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