Dec 13, 2006 6:58 pm US/Central
Burger King Holds Fundraiser For Slain Manager
Suspect Charged With Strangling Mary Hutchison In Court Wednesday
by Katie McCall
WAUKEGAN, Ill. (CBS) ―
A small town came together Wednesday to help the family of a restaurant manager murdered on the job at a Burger King restaurant.
CBS 2's North Suburban Bureau Chief Katie McCall reports the suspect was in court in Lake County Wednesday, and his new lawyer wants to keep the case out of the media.
The public defender filed a motion for a gag order because he feels the case is already too public.
Business was booming at the
Lindenhurst Burger King where store manager
Mary Hutchison was murdered two weeks ago.
Many came for lunch Wednesday because the restaurant is donating all of the day's sales to Hutchison's memorial fund.
"I think everybody was moved by what happened and wants to help out," said Jeff Smith, a Burger King customer.
"I thought it was a great idea. Anything that the family would need I think is good to help them," said customer Sally King.
Hutchison's family is suing the restaurant's owner for wrongful death, claiming it failed to keep her safe from
James Ealy, the former employee charged with strangling Hutchison with her own bowtie and stabbing her multiple times.
In court Wednesday Ealy told the judge he refused to fill out the documents required to declare him indigent and assign him a public defender:
"I'm not gonna fill out any form that's gonna be used against me by the prosecution," Ealy said.
Despite that, the judge assigned him a public defender who filed a motion for a gag order.
The Lake County State's Attorney's office says there would have to be significant circumstances to justify the order.
"The defense has filed a motion claiming there has been a lot of publicity in the case they wish that there be no discussions outside the courtroom," said Jeffrey Pavletic, Chief Deputy of the Lake County State's Attorney.
The big question now is whether Ealy will face the death penalty.
Prosecutors say they don't see any mitigating circumstances so far--but that decision is still a month away.
The Hutchison family issued a statement Wednesday that read in part: "The family of Mary Hutchison wants Burger King to focus their efforts on helping their employees in life, rather than death. …We call upon Burger King... to make an investment in the well-being of their employees by doing background checks, and installing security cameras and time-delay safes. Let's make this the last memorial fundraiser that Burger King ever has to host."
The judge will rule on the gag order next Wednesday.
(CBS 2 and the Northwest Herald are news partners covering stories in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. If you know of stories happening in this region, contact us.)
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