Post by Anja on Jun 15, 2006 16:00:53 GMT -5
'Railroad Killer' execution date set for June 27
7 years ago today, the worst kind of boogeyman got off a Union Pacific
train in rural Jackson County near Gorham, laid in wait behind a house for
several hours, and then brutally killed the occupants.
The double murder of George "Cork" Morber, 80, and his daughter, Carolyn
Frederick, 52, on June 15, 1999, shocked Southern Illinois.
The killing made basic fears become all too real - a cold and vicious
stranger appeared out of nowhere to wreck havoc and destruction for no
apparent reason, and then disappeared again. Such things are supposed to
happen in movies, not in real life. For many Southern Illinoisans, the
time is remembered as a waking nightmare.
Fears escalated when Jackson County investigators revealed the name of the
man they linked to the killings. He was known then as Rafael Resendez
Ramirez, nicknamed "the Railroad Killer."
Angel Maturino Resendiz, as he is known now, is linked to nine murders,
and is thought to be guilty - by his own admission - of many more.
The 1st murder charge against him was filed by Jackson County State's
Attorney Michael Wepsiec.
Resendiz was not tried for the Morber and Frederick murders, but the
charges against him still stand in Jackson County. There is no statute of
limitations on murder.
"It's important to keep the charges against him until he is executed or
dies of natural causes," Wepsiec said on Tuesday.
Jackson County Sheriff Robert Burns, then a deputy, was the lead
investigator on the case. He testified against Resendiz during the
latter's sentencing. Burns was named Deputy of the Year for Illinois in
1999, for his work on the Railroad Killer case as well as on others.
Burns said this week he does not want to discuss the case until it is over
completely.
In May 2000, the Southern Illinoisan reported that Wepsiec planned to try
Resendiz in Jackson County even after the death sentence was issued for
the serial killer in Texas.
There was opposition, voiced most strongly at the time by Jim Kerly, then
chairman of the Jackson County Budget Committee. It would cost too much to
try a man already sentenced to death, it was argued. The Jackson County
Courthouse was not prepared to handle the media event such a trial would
be, it was said, nor was it equipped to handle the added security measures
that would have been necessary.
However, it was not up to the budget committee to determine prosecution
matters in the county. Resendiz was tried in Texas because he was in
custody in Texas, Wepsiec said. If the opportunity arises to try Resendiz,
Wepsiec said, he'll be ready.
Wepsiec said he was the first state's attorney to file charges against
Resendiz because he had the evidence necessary for such charges.
"We wanted to get a warrant out as quickly as possible to prevent him from
being free and killing people," he said, remembering the reasonable fear
that Resendiz might strike again. "All we knew is that he was still at
large."
For Wepsiec, it isn't personal that Resendiz hasn't been tried for the
Gorham murders. He said he doesn't have a vendetta against the serial
killer, but he does have a good case.
"I can understand where (the surviving Morber and Frederick family
members) feel they've been short-changed," he said. He noted, though, that
at least one family member addressed the court at Resendiz' sentencing.
William Kilquist, Jackson County sheriff in 1999, said at the time he
accepted that Resendiz was not tried in Jackson County. However, he, like
Wepsiec, said he would not forget George Morber and Carolyn Frederick and
the need for justice.
"It is all of our responsibility to make sure that he never walks on the
street again, or rides the rails again," he said on May 19, 2000, after
Resendiz' sentence was made known. "With death penalty cases, and appeals
that last 10 years or more, you don't want something to happen down the
road that reverses one case without having convictions in any of the
others."
That won't happen, Wepsiec said. He noted there is a detainer against
Resendiz from Jackson County. If Resendiz is ever released from custody in
Texas, he will be brought to Jackson County.
"He is still presumed to be innocent, but I'm confident we have a warrant
on the right guy," Wepsiec said.
Resendiz has confessed to murdering George Morber and Carolyn Frederick.
There is considerable physical evidence against him in the case, including
DNA and fingerprint evidence. And "not guilty by reason of insanity" is
not a common finding, Wepsiec said.
Still, as June 27 nears, and the possibility that Resendiz's execution may
be delayed again as it has been delayed before, the nightmare is still not
over for those touched here by the shadow of the man known to the nation
as the Railroad Killer.
(source: The Southern Illinoisan)
7 years ago today, the worst kind of boogeyman got off a Union Pacific
train in rural Jackson County near Gorham, laid in wait behind a house for
several hours, and then brutally killed the occupants.
The double murder of George "Cork" Morber, 80, and his daughter, Carolyn
Frederick, 52, on June 15, 1999, shocked Southern Illinois.
The killing made basic fears become all too real - a cold and vicious
stranger appeared out of nowhere to wreck havoc and destruction for no
apparent reason, and then disappeared again. Such things are supposed to
happen in movies, not in real life. For many Southern Illinoisans, the
time is remembered as a waking nightmare.
Fears escalated when Jackson County investigators revealed the name of the
man they linked to the killings. He was known then as Rafael Resendez
Ramirez, nicknamed "the Railroad Killer."
Angel Maturino Resendiz, as he is known now, is linked to nine murders,
and is thought to be guilty - by his own admission - of many more.
The 1st murder charge against him was filed by Jackson County State's
Attorney Michael Wepsiec.
Resendiz was not tried for the Morber and Frederick murders, but the
charges against him still stand in Jackson County. There is no statute of
limitations on murder.
"It's important to keep the charges against him until he is executed or
dies of natural causes," Wepsiec said on Tuesday.
Jackson County Sheriff Robert Burns, then a deputy, was the lead
investigator on the case. He testified against Resendiz during the
latter's sentencing. Burns was named Deputy of the Year for Illinois in
1999, for his work on the Railroad Killer case as well as on others.
Burns said this week he does not want to discuss the case until it is over
completely.
In May 2000, the Southern Illinoisan reported that Wepsiec planned to try
Resendiz in Jackson County even after the death sentence was issued for
the serial killer in Texas.
There was opposition, voiced most strongly at the time by Jim Kerly, then
chairman of the Jackson County Budget Committee. It would cost too much to
try a man already sentenced to death, it was argued. The Jackson County
Courthouse was not prepared to handle the media event such a trial would
be, it was said, nor was it equipped to handle the added security measures
that would have been necessary.
However, it was not up to the budget committee to determine prosecution
matters in the county. Resendiz was tried in Texas because he was in
custody in Texas, Wepsiec said. If the opportunity arises to try Resendiz,
Wepsiec said, he'll be ready.
Wepsiec said he was the first state's attorney to file charges against
Resendiz because he had the evidence necessary for such charges.
"We wanted to get a warrant out as quickly as possible to prevent him from
being free and killing people," he said, remembering the reasonable fear
that Resendiz might strike again. "All we knew is that he was still at
large."
For Wepsiec, it isn't personal that Resendiz hasn't been tried for the
Gorham murders. He said he doesn't have a vendetta against the serial
killer, but he does have a good case.
"I can understand where (the surviving Morber and Frederick family
members) feel they've been short-changed," he said. He noted, though, that
at least one family member addressed the court at Resendiz' sentencing.
William Kilquist, Jackson County sheriff in 1999, said at the time he
accepted that Resendiz was not tried in Jackson County. However, he, like
Wepsiec, said he would not forget George Morber and Carolyn Frederick and
the need for justice.
"It is all of our responsibility to make sure that he never walks on the
street again, or rides the rails again," he said on May 19, 2000, after
Resendiz' sentence was made known. "With death penalty cases, and appeals
that last 10 years or more, you don't want something to happen down the
road that reverses one case without having convictions in any of the
others."
That won't happen, Wepsiec said. He noted there is a detainer against
Resendiz from Jackson County. If Resendiz is ever released from custody in
Texas, he will be brought to Jackson County.
"He is still presumed to be innocent, but I'm confident we have a warrant
on the right guy," Wepsiec said.
Resendiz has confessed to murdering George Morber and Carolyn Frederick.
There is considerable physical evidence against him in the case, including
DNA and fingerprint evidence. And "not guilty by reason of insanity" is
not a common finding, Wepsiec said.
Still, as June 27 nears, and the possibility that Resendiz's execution may
be delayed again as it has been delayed before, the nightmare is still not
over for those touched here by the shadow of the man known to the nation
as the Railroad Killer.
(source: The Southern Illinoisan)
