Marcy Jo Andrews, February 14, 1984, 24, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
Updated: Feb 14
Marcy Jo Andrews disappeared in 1984 when she was just 24 years young. She was never seen again. An arrest and conviction was made, though there was never a sign of Marcy again.
Read Marcy's story below:
In 2000, nearly 16 years after the crime had been committed, defendant was charged in a seven-count indictment with the first degree murder of Marcy Andrews. That indictment included: (1) one charge of intentional first degree murder, in that defendant unlawfully, intentionally or knowingly killed Marcy Andrews by drugging and strangling her; (2) one charge of first degree murder, in that defendant knew that the drugging and strangling of Marcy Andrews created a strong probability of death or great bodily harm to her; and (3) five charges of felony murder, in that Marcy Andrews was killed while defendant was committing the forcible felonies of rape, aggravated kidnaping, aggravated battery, unlawful restraint, and/or deviate sexual assault.
Defendant was tried before a jury in July 2005. The evidence adduced at trial established the following pertinent facts. In 1984, Sara Andrews lived on the north side of Chicago with her husband Robert and two minor children. Sara also had an adult daughter, the victim, 24-year-old Marcy Andrews. At that time, Marcy was 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighed about 120 pounds.
Sara testified at trial that Marcy was not Robert's daughter but rather the daughter of James Prather, who was no longer alive at the time of the trial. Sara explained that she married Robert when Marcy was 11 years old and that she then changed Marcy's last name to Andrews. According to Sara, Marcy lived in an apartment in her step-grandmother's house on the northwest side of Chicago.
According to Sara, sometime in 1982, Marcy approached her and told her that she had a drinking problem and that she wanted to go to a treatment center. Sara stated that soon thereafter Marcy entered herself in a program called Crossroads at St. Xavier University, where she stayed for about nine months. While at Crossroads, Marcy attended Daley Junior Community College. According to Sara, Marcy wanted to make sure her treatment was complete and she also wanted to counsel other people who came to the center.
After leaving Crossroads, Marcy moved into an apartment in her step-grandmother's house and enrolled in nearby Northeastern Illinois University. In February 1984, Marcy worked at Periodical Publishers on West Lawrence Avenue in Chicago. At that time, she had stopped attending Northeastern University because she had made plans to move to Paducah, Kentucky, where Sara's sister lived. According to Sara, Marcy had already traveled to Paducah to apply for a job in Wal-Mart, find an apartment, and obtain the necessary application forms for Paducah Community College. Marcy intended to leave Chicago in mid-March in order to start the summer semester at Paducah Community College on June 1.
Sara testified that at approximately 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., on February 13, 1984, she arrived home from work, where Marcy had been babysitting her step-sister Jessica. According to Sara, Marcy had just taken a shower and was blow-drying her hair. Marcy needed a ride back to her apartment, and her stepfather gave her a ride home. Sara testified that this was the last time she saw Marcy.
Sara averred that two days later, on February 15, 1984, she called Marcy in order to ask if they could get together so that she could give Marcy a box of Valentine's Day chocolates that she had bought for her. Sara stated that she was unable to reach Marcy and instead spoke to her mother-in-law, who shared a telephone with Marcy. Sara testified that she learned that Marcy had not called her step-grandmother the night before to tell her that she would not be home. Sara stated that she became concerned when she heard this. She explained that it was unusual for Marcy not to call her step-grandmother because it was common for Marcy's step-grandmother to wait up for Marcy with a sandwich and something to drink so that they could talk before going to bed. According to Sara, Marcy had always been very attentive and respectful toward her step-grandmother.
Sara averred that she then learned that Marcy had been with a friend named Dori Pernell, but that she did not know Dori's address or telephone number. Sara attempted to find Dori's telephone number but discovered that it was unlisted. She then asked her mother-in-law to make a note of everyone who called for Marcy and get their contact information.
According to Sara, her mother-in-law did just that and every time someone called, she would report to Sara, who would call the person and ask them to tell her the last time they had seen or heard from Marcy. For a week, Sara could not find anyone who had seen or heard from Marcy. On the weekend, Sara drove to the family's second home in Michigan to check if Marcy had gone there and collect some of her old address books, where she hoped she could find Dori's telephone number. To Sara's dismay, however, there were no signs that Marcy had been inside the Michigan home.
While Sara was in Michigan, she received a telephone call from her mother-in-law saying that Dori had called and left a telephone number. Sara called Dori from Michigan, and after speaking with her, Sara decided to immediately call the police. Upon her return to Chicago, Sara also filed a missing person's report with the Chicago police department, providing the police with descriptions and photographs of Marcy and any other relevant information.
Sara testified that she did not hear from the police in the next few days, but that she continued “to call anybody she could,” including her sister in Paducah, her parents, and other relatives, asking if they had heard from or seen Marcy. Sara also called Marcy's employer, who told her that Marcy had not shown up for work. Sara telephoned Crossroads and spoke to a few counselors there, who told her that Marcy was supposed to have lunch with one of them, but that she failed to show up. The counselors were “quite concerned” when they had not heard from Marcy.
Sara averred that she also went into Marcy's apartment. According to Sara, the apartment was very neat, Marcy's bed was made, a paperback book was open and overturned on the night stand and Marcy's reading glasses were on top of the paperback. It appeared to Sara that Marcy had started separating her clothes for the move to Paducah, because there was “a pile of discards, she had a pile of washing, and a pile of ironing,” and the ironing board was set up. On the desk Sara found a few bills in envelopes, with dates written on them indicating on which date they were supposed to be mailed. On the desk, Sara also found some gold chains and jewelry. Sara also observed a request for transcripts to be sent to Kentucky and a savings passbook for Irving Federal Savings. Sara testified that from what she observed in the apartment she could not determine if anything was missing or if it appeared that Marcy was going to come back. Sara averred that she could not find Marcy's purse, but that she took the contents of the wastebasket, Marcy's old telephone books and letters, Christmas cards, and “anything that was there that had anything written on it.”
In the following days, Sara spoke to Marcy's friends, Dori and Gay Dell, and then to David Harold. Sara searched area hospitals for Marcy but there were no records of Marcy there. Sara also made flyers with Marcy's photo and together with relatives distributed them continuously throughout the area.
Sara also contacted Marcy's birth father and asked him if Marcy had talked about anything out of the ordinary recently. Marcy's father was very concerned and told Sara that the last time he spoke to Marcy she seemed normal. According to Sara, Marcy's father called back with a list of all the calls Marcy had made from Boston at the time she was visiting him. Sara contacted all the people from that list but learned nothing about Marcy's whereabouts.
Sara next sent a mass-mailing explaining the circumstances of Marcy's disappearance to all the coroners in every county in Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan. Coroners began contacting her and asking for medical records.
According to Sara, Marcy had a gynecologist, a foot doctor, and a dentist. She obtained medical records and X-rays from the foot doctor and dentist and gave them to the police. She also contacted Marcy's gynecologist and was told that the last time Marcy had been there was in December 1983.
Sara testified that she then called the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, where she was told that the agency dealt only with the disappearance of minors under the age of 14, and was referred to an agency called Search Registry. Sara sent Marcy's picture and information to Search Registry, which distributed it to places like the Salvation Army and halfway houses throughout the United States. This search produced no results.
Sara averred that in her efforts to find Marcy she also went to Marcy's bank, the Irving Federal Saving and Loan, in Chicago, where she spoke to a teller. According to Sara, the last entry made in Marcy's passbook was in December 1983. The teller put a red flag on Marcy's account to notify Sara of any future activity on the account. According to Sara, seven years later, in 1991 she received a notification indicating that Marcy's account was “ unclaimed property.” Sara went to the bank and collected the money which totaled $91.
Sara was next questioned about Marcy's habits and routines. Sara testified that Marcy was a girl who always stayed in touch with friends and relatives. Sara stated that Marcy regularly visited her house, especially on holidays, and spent time with Sara's younger children. According to Sara, Marcy was “always wanting to take them to the zoo, or do something fun with them.” Sara also stated that she was very close to Marcy because for the first 11 years of Marcy's life the two of them were together. Also, Sara went to college while she was raising Marcy, and the two of them were very open with each other. Sara testified that she believed Marcy would come to her if she had a problem or needed to talk about something.
Sara testified that Marcy was also very conscientious about her work and always wanted to make her quotas as a verifier in the publishing company where she worked when she disappeared in February 1984. Sara stated that after February 14, 1984, Marcy never showed up to work, and even left a paycheck there.
Sara finally testified that she “did everything that she possibly could” to find Marcy, but that to her knowledge no one has ever heard or seen Marcy since her disappearance on February 14, 1984.
On cross-examination, Sara acknowledged that Marcy was born on January 1, 1960, and that her birth certificate reads Marcy Jo Prather. Sara explained that she and Marcy's biological father, James Prather, were never legally married but that Sara had put the name Prather on Marcy's birth certificate because Sara and Prather had “been living [together] common law for several months.”
Sara testified that she lived with Marcy in Vermillion County, Illinois, until 1964 when she moved to Chicago, where she met Robert Andrews. Sara acknowledged that in 1971 when Marcy was 11 years old she married Robert Andrews and changed Marcy's name to Andrews.
On cross-examination, Sara acknowledged that Marcy and her biological father, James Prather, never spent time together when Marcy was a little girl. Sara testified, however, that while Marcy was at Crossroads in 1983 she contacted her birth father and went to visit him in Boston. According to Sara, Marcy was disappointed in James Prather because the first thing he did when he met her at the airport, although he knew she was coming from a rehabilitation center, was to invite her to go to a bar, telling her “ You are here with me, you can do anything you want.” Sara testified that they were unaware at that time that Prather was an alcoholic. According to Sara, Marcy had told her that James Prather “does not know how to be a father.” Sara stated that despite this disappointment, soon after meeting James Prather, Marcy went on a cruise with him and his new girlfriend.
On cross-examination, Sara also acknowledged that Dori had been Marcy's roommate before she entered Crossroads. She also testified that she later became aware that Dori and Marcy did drugs together and that she was concerned that Marcy continued to be friends with Dori after she came out of the intervention program. Sara acknowledge, however, that she did nothing to prevent Marcy from spending time with Dori.
Sara admitted that Marcy dropped out of Lane Tech high school to waitress in a cocktail lounge but indicated that Marcy always had a job since age 16, first at Treasure Island, then at Marina City and then in the coat check of the East Bank Club.
On cross-examination, Sara admitted that after dropping out of high school, Marcy, together with Dori, went by bus to Sara's sister's house in Texas. Sara stated that although at that time she was unaware that Dori and Marcy were doing drugs on that trip, she now knows that they were.
On cross-examination, Sara also testified that at the time she was working in the East Bank Club, Marcy told her that she was in a car accident where she blacked out. According to Sara, Marcy was with a basketball coach and they had borrowed somebody else's car, when they got into the accident. Marcy told Sara that she “did not know why she suddenly decided to move the car because it was double-parked,” but that this was when they got into the accident. Marcy also told Sara that she was concerned that the girl whose car she had borrowed and wrecked would do something to her and that she therefore needed to leave town for a while.
Sara also acknowledged that after that car incident, Marcy went on about a month-long “cross-country jaunt with a Mayflower truck driver.” Sara explained, however, that during the trip Marcy called her and told her the name, dispatch number, and log number of the truck driver. She also testified that Marcy called her every few days and that she sent post cards to her step-siblings. Sara stated that it appeared that Marcy liked traveling around the country and helping the truck driver with his inventory.
Michael John Panisi next testified that he was born Michael John Panisiak but that the military changed his name to Panisi. Panisi testified that he grew up in Chicago near Chicago Avenue and Western Avenue, and that he dropped out of school after the eighth grade. Panisi stated that at age 17 he joined the military and that he was in the special forces, “a beret.” Panisi stated that he served three tours in Vietnam and that he was 21 years old when he left the military. Panisi testified that as a result of the drugs he took in Vietnam and the flashbacks that he experienced from the war, he was “messed up” after he left the military. He testified that “tic sticks, cocaine, marijuana, and heroine” were available to him in Vietnam and that this was a problem for a lot of soldiers there, who died as a result of these drugs.
Panisi averred that after he left the military, he had many odd jobs, including working as a cook, a truck driver, a taxi cab driver, and a construction worker. He described himself as a “jack of all trades, master of none.”
Panisi was next asked by the prosecutor whether he knew defendant. Panisi indicated that he did. At this point, the prosecutor asked Panisi if he could see defendant in the courtroom, and Panisi indicated that he could not. After standing up and looking around the courtroom, Panisi could still not identify defendant. He, however, explained that it has been a long time, about 20 years, since he last saw defendant.
Panisi next testified that in February 1984, he had known defendant for about a couple of months. He stated that he had been to defendant's apartment on Rockwell and Iowa, directly across the street from Archie's bar. According to Panisi, defendant's apartment was on the second floor of the building, which was owned by defendant's mother. Panisi testified that around Valentine's Day in February of 1984 he went to defendant's apartment to buy drugs. While there he saw a naked girl handcuffed to radiator who was “all screwed up on the drugs that [defendant] was selling.” Panisi stated that you could not see the girl from the front door, but that you had to enter the kitchen, where the girl was handcuffed to a cast iron, “old time” radiator. According to Panisi the girl was sitting on the kitchen floor with one hand handcuffed to the radiator. When Panisi saw the girl he asked defendant “Man, what is this? Man what are you doing with this girl?” Defendant replied “She's too screwed up to be walking around the apartment.” Defendant told Panisi that he had given the girl some THC, which she took of her own free will. Defendant also told Panisi, “I can't have her running all around while I'm trying to do my business, and she's falling all around, and I don't want her to start busting up shit and hurt herself.” Panisi explained that defendant sold drugs, specifically THC, which is an animal tranquilizer also known as PCP, “angel dust” or “tic.”
Panisi testified that after observing this, he removed the girl's handcuffs and walked her to the kitchen table to give her some peanut butter, milk and orange juice. Panisi intended to make the girl vomit to get the drugs out of her system, but after he gave her the orange juice and milk she only started spitting the food and vomiting a little, “but not enough.” Panisi told defendant to “get [the girl] some clothes,” and the two of them dressed her in pants and a blouse, but with difficulty because she was “flopping all over the place,” and “was too zoned to help.” After that, Panisi bought drugs off defendant and told him he had to go. Defendant responded, “[w]ell I'm going to just cuff her back up.” Panisi took his “two grams” of “tic” and left.
Panisi averred that he went to defendant's apartment again the next day and observed the girl on the couch next to defendant. The girl was not handcuffed at this time. According to Panisi, a customer came by to buy drugs from defendant, and defendant told him “[h]ere man, take care of this girl.” The customer then forced the girl to have oral sex with him. Panisi testified that the girl again seemed to be “out of it,” and that she did not appear to know what was going on around her. Panisi then explained that defendant told him that the girl had snorted one whole gram of THC, which, according to Panisi was “a lot.” Panisi himself would take only a fourth of a gram. Panisi further stated that defendant's drugs were so potent that “[s]ome people don't come back from it. That's how strong his stuff was.”
After refreshing his memory from the transcript of his grand jury testimony, Panisi acknowledged that when he asked defendant how the girl ended up in this condition, defendant told him that they were snorting drugs together and that he had told her that she was snorting cocaine when in fact she was snorting the more powerful THC. Defendant said that he tricked the girl in this way because “she screwed up his mama's car.” According to defendant, the girl had grabbed his steering wheel and made him crash the car. Panisi stated that defendant then showed him the car, which was white and had right front damage, and asked Panisi to help him fix it. Panisi refused, indicating that he did not know anything about cars.
Panisi also averred that he initially called the girl Stacy but that after he looked into her wallet, which was on the couch, he saw her driver's license and discovered that her name was Marcy. Panisi stated that he then told the girl, “Marcy, you got to straighten up,” but it was like talking to a “vegetable.” Panisi testified that throughout the two days the girl's condition did not change much, because of how much THC she had initially taken.
Panisi testified that he went to the apartment to buy drugs on the third day. This time the girl was in a blanket or rug on the floor. When Panisi asked defendant what had happened, defendant responded “she's died on me, man.” Panisi told defendant to call the police, but defendant said, “no, help me get her out of here.” Panisi refused and started walking down the steps. Defendant told Panisi not to come to the apartment again, put the body over his shoulder and took it down the stairs himself. Panisi then observed defendant put the girl's body in the trunk of his mother's car and drive off swearing at Panisi. Panisi averred that defendant put the body in a green car, and he explained that he knew that the car belonged to defendant's mother, because he had previously met defendant's mother, who lived on the first floor of the building, and had observed her driving that same green car.
Panisi finally testified that he suffers from bipolar disorder for which he takes lithium and Halidol. Panisi also indicated that he receives $720 a month from Social Security because of his bipolar disorder and that he has been receiving these payments for about 15 years. Panisi acknowledged that before trial he was in the Las Vegas city jail where he was to remain until October 2005, but that investigators from the State's Attorney's office flew to Las Vegas to bring him to Chicago in July 2005, to testify at defendant's trial. Panisi explained that he then received “time considered served for the Las Vegas case.” Panisi finally stated that after his testimony he would be taken to a Greyhound station with the State's Attorney's office paying for his trip and giving him some money for food.
On cross-examination, Panisi acknowledged that when he was younger he was called “Gymshoe” because when he got into fights he would take off his shoe and beat guys with it. Panisi also admitted that he has been banned from all of the casinos in Las Vegas for counting cards.
At this point in the cross-examination, Panisi was questioned regarding his third visit to defendant's home, and he stated that he could not remember what he had said during direct examination regarding this visit, explaining, “I'm serious. I can't. Like I said, I'm not on my drugs now and my memory in and out [sic ]. I'm not trying to avoid the questions or anything.” Panisi then admitted that he was presently not taking either lithium or Halidol. When defense counsel repeated his question regarding Panisi's third visit to defendant's apartment, Panisi indicated that he remembered that he had testified that he saw defendant carry the girl's body in a rug into a green car. He then indicated that the car may have been a tan Toyota instead and stated that he remembered defendant's mother drove a tan car.
Panisi then acknowledged that in 1985 he told a grand jury that the day he saw defendant carry the body to the car was on February 18, 1984. Panisi also testified that on that same night he telephoned defendant at approximately 7:30 p.m. Upon defense counsel's questions, however, Panisi then acknowledged that at about 12:40 p.m., on February 18, 1984, he was arrested by the Chicago police for stealing a car stereo.
On cross-examination, Panisi also admitted that in February 1984 he had a habit of drinking and taking Valium pills which he stole from his grandmother. Panisi also acknowledged that he has been doing drugs for so long that he has no more veins and that he “can't do drugs no more.” Panisi indicated that when he visited defendant's apartment in the 1980s he would mostly take LSD. He stated that he did heroin a couple of times but did not like it because it made him “nod out.” Panisi indicated that his veins were ruined by the pain medication he injected himself. Panisi stated that he used to steal prescriptions from his doctor and write his own prescriptions for diet pills and other medicines.
Panisi acknowledged that within the last 15 years he also began working as a federal informant. As part of his informant duties, Panisi was paid by handlers to make introductions for people who were trying to buy illegal things. Panisi acknowledged that he “learned that if you gave the government information and they acted on it, they would pay you for it.”
On cross-examination, Panisi also admitted that in 2002, he was arrested and convicted for attempted larceny in Nevada for grabbing a person by the neck in front of a restaurant in order to get money. Panisi indicated that before this arrest he lived on the streets of North Las Vegas and slept on cardboard and on a sleeping bag in a field, with his dog. Panisi however averred that now he has a girlfriend and stated that after testifying at trial he planned on living with her.
On redirect examination, and over defense counsel's objection, Panisi testified that shortly after he observed Marcy chained to the radiator, he had a conversation with a friend, Michael Reinke, wherein he told Reinke what he had seen in defendant's apartment. Panisi also testified that in 1985 in front of the grand jury he similarly testified to having observed Marcy chained to a radiator in defendant's apartment on Valentine's Day 1984.
Delores “Dori” Garrity next testified that in 1984 Marcy Andrews was one of her best friends. Dori was aware that Marcy planned on going to school somewhere down south in the upcoming semester. Dori testified that on February 13, 1984, Marcy called her and asked her to meet at the bar. The two girls met at Jaime's Elsewhere on Lawrence Avenue, where Dori worked. Dori acknowledged that she knew Marcy had previously been in an alcohol and substance abuse program, but testified that a few weeks before that she had seen Marcy having a few drinks. Dori averred that after meeting Marcy in the bar, the two of them went to Dori's apartment to watch some television. Marcy spent the night at Dori's house.
Dori testified that the next day, February 14, 1984, was unusually warm so the two of them decided to go the botanical gardens to walk. Dori also invited their friend, Gay Dell, who lived in an apartment above Dori to come along. According to Dori, all three of them then “got a ride” to defendant's apartment to buy drugs, because they wanted to “get high and go to the botanical gardens.” Gay Dell wanted to take “tic” (or THC) and Marcy wanted to smoke marijuana. Dori averred that she and Marcy had done “tic” in the past. According to Dori, Gay Dell had been to defendant's apartment before, but Marcy had not.
Dori testified that once they came to defendant's apartment, she and Gay Dell snorted some “tic” and Marcy smoked some marijuana and had a few beers. Dori averred that the girls eventually changed their mind about going to the botanical gardens and instead remained in defendant's apartment talking. People were coming in and out of the apartment that Dori had not seen in a while and “the day went by.” According to Dori, Marcy eventually snorted a little bit of “tic,” and the girls then recorded a funny Valentine's Day message on defendant's answering machine. According to Dori, they spent a total of about five to seven hours in defendant's apartment.
At about 7 p.m., defendant offered the girls a ride home in a small white car. While in the car, defendant “lighted up a joint and took a couple of hits and passed it to Gay [Dell] and Marcy.” According to Dori, Marcy was sitting in the rear passenger side of the vehicle, and Dori was sitting right in front of her next to defendant. Dori testified that they then got into an accident. Defendant, who had been driving, ran the car into a viaduct on Western Avenue, and Dori's seat slid backwards and injured Marcy's ankle. According to Dori, Marcy's ankle looked broken, and she could not stand on it at all. Dori, who only had a few bruises, offered to take Marcy to the hospital, but defendant “went crazy on us.” He started yelling at all three girls, saying “You are all bitches, witches. This is all your fault.” According to Dori, defendant was blaming them for the accident and told them he was angry because he did not have insurance.
Dori testified that the police then came and took defendant and Marcy with them. Defendant gave Dori and Gay Dell his car keys and some money and told them to wait for the tow truck, while he went to the police station. He told them that he would take Marcy to the hospital afterwards. Dori stated that this was the last time she saw Marcy.
According to Dori, after defendant's car was towed, she and Gay Dell went back to her apartment and tried to call Marcy to see if she was ok. Dori stated that there was no answer at Marcy's apartment. She then called defendant's house and heard the Valentine's message that they had made that afternoon. Dori stated that eventually defendant called her back and asked what had happened to his car and why it had not been towed back to his place. Dori tried to explain that he did not leave them enough money and that the driver took the car to another location, but defendant became angry and screamed at her. Dori asked defendant where Marcy was and if she had gone to the hospital but defendant avoided her questions.
Dori testified that she and defendant exchanged a few telephone calls that night until finally she told him, “I will bring you the keys if I can talk to Marcy.” Defendant then put Marcy on the telephone. According to Dori, Marcy did not sound good. She told Dori, “Please get me out of here,” and “[h]e's scaring me.” Dori explained that Marcy first told her that defendant wanted her to stay the night and that he would take her to the hospital in the morning, but that she then stated “Please get me out of here. I have to get out of here.” Dori averred that Marcy's voice sounded scared and frightened, and that she sounded like she was “high,” with her speech slow and slurred.
Dori stated that immediately after this telephone call, she and Gay Dell got a ride from John Hefner to defendant's apartment. Dori rang the doorbell but there was no answer. Together with Gay Dell and John Hefner, Dori went across the street to a bar and called defendant's home but there was no answer. Dori continued to call and leave messages on defendant's answering machine, saying, “Open the door. Let me in. If you want your keys, I want Marcy.” Dori stated that she could see a shadow walking in the front room of defendant's apartment, but stated that no one ever moved the curtain aside. Dori threw rocks at defendant's window but defendant never answered his door. Eventually, Dori, Gay Dell and John Hefner went home.
Dori continued to call defendant the next day. Once Dori finally reached defendant, she asked him why he would not open the door for her, and he told her that she never came by the house. Defendant asked for his car keys again and told Dori that Marcy had left. Dori did not believe defendant because Marcy could not walk after the car accident, so she told him that she would come to his house and bring his car keys if he let her into his apartment so that she could see if Marcy was there.
Dori testified that she then went again to defendant's apartment together with her brother and Gay Dell. When she rang the doorbell, defendant ran down the stairs to the ground floor screaming at her. According to Dori, although it was very cold, defendant was only wearing pants, a rabbit fur vest and a chain hanging from his neck. Dori asked to go upstairs, but defendant would not let her, threatening that he would kill her and throw battery acid in her face, and indicating that he knew where she and Gay Dell lived. Dori was angry at defendant and she threw his car keys in his face and left.
Dori averred that she then called Marcy's grandmother and mother but was not able to reach them. Dori continued to call defendant and go to his apartment every day. Toward the end of the week, Dori was finally able to reach Marcy's grandmother, and tell her what had happened. Dori asked Marcy's grandmother to have Marcy's mother call her back. Sara Andrews called Dori after she returned home from a weekend vacation. Dori told her what had happened and asked her to call the police and go with her to defendant's apartment.
On cross-examination, Dori admitted that in 2004 she was convicted of forgery and sentenced to 18 months' probation. Dori acknowledged that she started using THC when she was 17 years old and that she continued to use it into her twenties. Dori also testified that she had tried cocaine, but not heroin. Dori stated that she was a “bad person” and that she made a very big mistake in not calling the police or Marcy's family earlier.
Gay Dell next testified that she knew Marcy through Dori. Gay stated that she spent February 14, 1984, with Marcy and Dori. According to Gay, it was an unusually warm day and the three of them decided to go to the botanical gardens. However, they were first going to get “high,” so Dori called defendant and asked if they could come by his apartment to “pick up something.” Gay averred that at that time she had met defendant on two prior occasions.
Together with Marcy and Dori, Gay went to defendant's house. Instead of just stopping by and picking up the drugs, the girls ended up spending the day at defendant's house.
According to Gay, defendant gave them beer and “tic,” and they partied all day long. Gay also recalled that together with Marcy and Dori she made a Valentine's Day recording on defendant's answering machine. Gay testified that throughout the day, people kept coming in and out of defendant's house getting drugs. She recognized only two of the men who stopped by the apartment that day-Jeff Wild and Dave Harold. Gay stated that at one point Dori wanted to go home, but that defendant kept asking her to “wait a few more minutes.”
After a while, Dori told defendant that they would just take a cab, and defendant then agreed to drive them home. According to Gay, defendant was annoyed that Dori wanted to leave with the girls.
Gay testified that once they got into the car with defendant, defendant ran into a viaduct. Gay was not injured, but Dori was bruised, and Marcy kept saying “my foot, my foot, I think I broke my foot.” According to Gay, defendant was angry at the three of them, blaming them for the accident and calling them “bitches.” Defendant told Dori and Gay that he would take Marcy to the hospital. Marcy went with defendant and Gay went home with Dori.
Gay averred that once at Dori's apartment, she and Dori tried to call defendant's house to see if he had taken Marcy to the hospital but there was no answer, and they kept reaching the Valentine's Day message they had made at defendant's apartment that afternoon.
According to Gay, later that night they were able to speak to defendant and then to Marcy.
Defendant wanted his car keys returned, and they told him that they would give him the keys if he would let them talk to Marcy. Gay testified that when she finally spoke to Marcy, Marcy told her, “Please come and get me. My ankle hurts. I want to go home.” According to Gay, Marcy sounded incoherent and her speech was slurred. Gay testified that Marcy did not sound like this at the time of the accident, and that it therefore appeared to Gay that Marcy was “high” on THC, which she must have taken after the accident.
Gay stated that after she spoke to Marcy at about 10 p.m., she and Dori went to defendant's house on Iowa and Rockwell to try and get Marcy. They rang the bell numerous times but defendant would not open the door. Gay stated that she and Dori then went to a bar across the street and used a pay phone to call defendant, but again got no answer. Gay observed a silhouette pacing back and forth in defendant's second floor apartment. She and Dori threw rocks at the window, but no one answered the door. Gay stated that after that night, she never saw or heard from Marcy again.
According to Gay, a couple of days later, she and Dori went back to defendant's apartment. They rang the doorbell and defendant came flying down the stairs. Gay averred that defendant had no shirt on and was wearing a fur vest and a big medallion on his chest. Defendant screamed at Gay, demanding his keys and saying, “I'm going to kill you. I know where you live. I'll throw battery acid in your faces if you don't give me the keys.” According to Gay, Dori then threw the car keys at defendant and the two of them left. Gay testified that she never called the police, which she regrets, but explained that at the time she did not think it was wise “to call the police on a drug dealer.”
On cross-examination, Gay admitted that she had “done drugs many times, all the time, for a long time.” She explained that she started abusing drugs as a teenager and that she continued to do so into her early twenties. Gay had used marijuana, THC, cocaine and alcohol. When questioned about whether she ever sold drugs, Gay first indicated that she did not. However, after being questioned about her 1987 conviction for delivery and manufacture of a controlled substance, Gay admitted that she pled guilty and was convicted of these two charges. Gay, however, explained that she had never sold those drugs herself, but rather that she had been arrested together with her boyfriend inside her boyfriend's house, at a time he was selling drugs.
Roger Sexton next testified for the State. Sexton first indicated that he was 44 years old and testified about his prior criminal record. Sexton admitted that in September 2002 he pled guilty to two charges of interstate transportation of stolen property and that he was sentenced to 120 months' imprisonment and 5 months' imprisonment to be served consecutively. Sexton acknowledged that at the time of his testimony he was still serving that sentence in the Pennsylvania Federal Correctional Institution and that after his testimony he would be returned there. Sexton also admitted that in 1997 he pleaded guilty and was sentenced in Illinois to 18 months' probation on a possession of controlled substance charge. At that time, Sexton also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport stolen goods and received 38 months' imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release.
Sexton testified that in August 2000, he was arrested in Indiana on a warrant for the violation of that supervised release. Sexton further averred that in 1989, he was sentenced to 4 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for escape, and that in 1994 he served 18 months in an Ohio jail on a breaking and entering charge.
Sexton next testified about his relationship with defendant. Sexton stated that he first met defendant in 1995 in the Federal Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago and that they knew each other for only a few months.4 Sexton explained, however, that he next saw defendant in 1998 when Sexton was sentenced to 38 months' imprisonment in the federal correction facility in Oxford, Wisconsin. Sexton indicated that for the next four years he and defendant saw each other on a regular basis. Sexton and defendant would walk together in the prison yard, talk, eat lunch and work out together, lifting weights.
Sexton testified that in the spring or summer of 1998, he had an unusual discussion with defendant, “about a girl.” Defendant told Sexton that he had just lost his appeal, and Sexton inquired as to why. Defendant then said, “Well, that bitch is still coming back to haunt me after all these years.” When Sexton asked defendant what he was talking about, defendant explained that the judge had sentenced him to too much time and went on to say that “ they couldn't find her body, so they know he done it.”
Sexton averred that after he was released from prison in August 1999, he continued to see defendant at a halfway house at meals. Sexton explained that defendant was released from prison before him, and that when Sexton went to live in the halfway house, defendant had already moved out, but that he continued to visit Sexton there. Sexton remained in the halfway house for about 3 1/212 to 4 months. After that, he lived with defendant for a few weeks. According to Sexton, sometime in November or December of 1999, while living with defendant, Sexton had another “unusual conversation with defendant about a girl.”
Defendant and Sexton were in a bar on Milwaukee Avenue sometime before 10 p.m., reminiscing about their days in the Oxford penitentiary when defendant started talking about how he should have gotten out of prison earlier. When Sexton asked defendant what he was talking about, defendant said, “I should have been out earlier. I should have won my appeal but the lady shot it down because of the murder charge and the bitch [is still haunting me].”
Defendant then told Sexton that he had been out with a girl and that they had done drugs together. Defendant told Sexton that they had snorted “tic,” but that the girl had thought it was cocaine. Sexton testified that defendant told him that after the girl took the “tic,” she became “hysterical, uncontrollable,” and that he had to handcuff her to a radiator. According to Sexton, defendant told him that he then had sex with the girl but that she was “a dead f- -k.” Defendant then told Sexton that afterwards the girl was just “lying on the floor” and was incoherent and that he did not know whether she was alive or dead.
Defendant told Sexton that “he had to make sure * * * because he couldn't take another hit like that.” While saying this, defendant made a strangling motion with his hands. When Sexton told defendant that he should not be talking about these things, defendant replied “Well, I'm not worried about it because they'll never find a piece of the bitch.” Sexton admitted that at this time he did not know whether the story defendant had told him was true.
Sexton acknowledged that he did not call the police when defendant told him this story. He averred that the first time he told anyone about what he had heard was when he was arrested by United States marshals in Indiana on August 22, 2000, for violation of his supervised release. Sexton admitted that he told the United States marshals what defendant had told him because he was angry at defendant. Sexton believed that defendant had told the United States marshals where Sexton was, and therefore, while riding in the car with the marshals he stated, “Imagine that a guy who goes around bragging about killing a girl is telling on me.”
Sexton testified that he received no deals or promises for his testimony in the present case, but acknowledged that the Assistant State's Attorney did tell him that he would write a letter to the United States Attorneys' office telling them about Sexton's cooperation in the present trial. Sexton admitted that he was eligible for a period of 21 to 27 months' imprisonment for his violation of the supervised release, but that at sentencing he received only 14 months with drug treatment. Sexton further stated that he also had a possession of a controlled substance case pending at that time, and that although no promises or deals were made with respect to that case, in return for his testimony in defendant's trial, that case was nol-prossed in November 2000, while Sexton was in federal custody.
On cross-examination, Sexton admitted that he escaped from electronic monitoring and home confinement in Cook County, but stated that no charges related to the escape or home confinement violation were ever brought against him. Sexton also admitted that he had heroin when he was arrested on August 22, 2000, but that no charges were ever brought for that as well. Sexton also admitted that he later found out that defendant had not turned him in to the United States marshals.
On cross-examination, defense counsel asked Sexton whether in 1998 he “got his hands” on a 15-page document prepared by the federal government in prosecuting defendant, from which he put together the evidence to which he testified in court. Sexton indicated that he had never seen or read any such document, or any paperwork on defendant's case, for that matter, at all. Sexton, however, then acknowledged that he did not immediately go to the authorities when defendant first told him about the crime and that he waited until 2000 when he was arrested for his violation of probation, to tell Federal Marshal, John Ambrose. Sexton stated that he initially thought that he was arrested because defendant had “turned him in” and that Federal Marshal John Ambrose had led him to believe so. Sexton, however, testified that “regardless, after I found out that [defendant]-you know, I mean that he really did do this to the girl, that's when I decided to turn because I thought he was lying about it.” When defense counsel asked Sexton who told him that defendant had “really done this,” Sexton indicated that it was the police.
Michael Reinke next testified that in 1984 he was friends with Panisi, who then went by the name of “Gymshoe.” Reinke explained that he and Panisi grew up in the same neighborhood around Chicago and Western Avenues. According to Reinke, sometime in February 1984, he had an unusual conversation with Panisi in the Ideal Liquors tavern on Chicago and Damen. Over defense counsel's renewed objection to this line of questioning Reinke was permitted to testify that on that night in the tavern, Panisi told him that he had seen a girl “tied up” to a radiator. Reinke also recalled that Panisi said something about a red sock in the girl's mouth. Reinke told Panisi to call the police if he wanted to and to stop talking about it. Reinke acknowledged that at that time he was getting ready to go to prison himself on an aggravated battery conviction.
David Harold next testified that in 1984 he met defendant through Dori Garrity. Harold stated that he also met Marcy Andrews and Gay Dell through Dori. In 1984 Harold had known Marcy for about two or three years. Harold testified that in the afternoon of Valentine's Day 1984, he went to defendant's apartment on the second floor at Iowa and Rockwell to buy drugs. Harold saw defendant, Marcy, Gay and Dori there. Harold only stopped by for a few minutes, bought drugs and left.
Harold further testified that on the following day he returned to defendant's apartment for more drugs. At about 4:00 or 4:30 p.m., Harold was on his way to work at Mack Truck, on the south side of Chicago, and stopped by defendant's apartment only for a few minutes. Harold's mother-in-law, who also worked at Mack Truck, remained in Harold's car, while Harold went up to defendant's apartment to buy the drugs. Harold averred that once in the apartment, he saw Marcy naked on the bed. Marcy got up and started to walk toward Harold, but she was stumbling, and Harold could tell she was “messed up,” from having taken “tic.” Harold testified that he told defendant to give Marcy some milk or orange juice because he had heard that would help someone who was “high” on “tic.” Harold averred that he left soon thereafter because he had to go to work, but that he told defendant to make sure to take care of Marcy, and defendant said that he would.
On cross-examination, Harold admitted that in 1984 he was a “tic” and cocaine user and that he would frequent Montrose Harbor to buy drugs and meet other people. Harold also acknowledged that he knew that Marcy, Dori and Gay frequented Montrose Harbor for the same reason. Harold admitted that he never saw Marcy chained to a radiator or tied up in any way.
Defendant's ex-wife, Debra Krystyn, next testified that in February 1984 she was married to defendant. In February 1984, she and defendant had been separated for about a month and a half, and she was not living with him in the second-floor apartment at 2558 West Iowa. Krystyn and defendant got back together for a short period of time later that spring.
Krystyn testified that while she was married to defendant, he owned five cars and a motorcycle. Krystyn averred that defendant's mother owned the building where defendant lived and that she herself lived on the first floor. According to Krystyn, defendant's mother owned a vehicle too. Krystyn also testified that prior to February 1984 defendant owned a pair of handcuffs but that after February of that year she never saw them again. Krystyn finally acknowledged that there was a radiator in the kitchen of defendant's apartment close to the window. After the testimony of Krystyn, the State rested.
Defense counsel called Fred Moreno as his only witness. Moreno testified that he is currently employed as an investigator for the Cook County State's Attorney's office, but that in 1984 he worked as a Chicago police officer. Moreno testified that at 12:50 p.m., on February 18, 1984, he arrested Michael Panisi and placed him in custody for the theft of a car radio.5 Moreno averred that when he arrested Panisi and took him to the police station, Panisi at no time told him about having seen a body or a woman in a drugged condition.
Moreno also testified that around 12:50 p.m. on February 18, 1984, together with Panisi he also arrested Michael Reinke. According to Moreno, Reinke did not tell him anything about a woman who was in trouble or a woman who was handcuffed to a radiator. After Moreno's testimony the defense rested.
The State and defense counsel then presented closing arguments. After hearing all the evidence in the case, the jury found defendant guilty of first degree murder and also concluded that the victim was killed in the course of the felony of aggravated kidnaping.
Marci has never been located, and her disappearance and murder has since been silenced.