DeKALB– Jonathan Hurst was found guilty of murder and home invasion almost nine years after Patricia and Robert Wilson were found beaten to death in their Sycamore residence in 2016.
The jury entered the courtroom at 4:15 p.m. Thursday with the verdicts. Hurst was found guilty on two counts of first degree murder and one count of home invasion.
Hurst sat with his defense counsel, stone faced as the court clerk read the verdict. Family and friends of the victims held hands and later embraced outside of the courtroom.
Mother and son Patricia and Robert Wilson were found murdered Aug. 15, 2016, in their Sycamore residence. The DeKalb County Coroner’s office ruled that the victims’ cause of death was blunt force trauma.
Hurst was charged for the murders almost four years ago and had since been held in the DeKalb County Jail. Trial proceedings had been continuously delayed due to issues such as changes in legal counsel before finally beginning Jan. 23.
Nearly two weeks of trial concluded with opposing counsels making their final statements.
Attorney Brooks Locke opened the prosecution’s closing statement illustrating what happened to Patricia and Robert Wilson on Aug. 14, 2016.
Robert and Patricia Wilson had been living at their Sycamore residence since 1970. Their home, surrounded by farmland, sits off of Route 64 and the “Great Western Trail” that Hurst allegedly followed.
Locke created a timeline of the Wilsons’ final day, reminding the jury that Patricia Wilson last spoke to her sister Nancy Strever at 7:43 p.m. On this call, Patricia shared that she was going to hang up to finish laundry.
The next day, police found Patricia slain on the floor of her laundry room.
It was brought up that Hurst, who in a prior interview shared he “did a hike thing” during the estimated time frame of the murders, had allegedly followed the trail and highway during his trip.
Hurst sustains that during this traveling, he stayed overnight in a hotel from Aug. 12 to Aug. 13 in Elmhurst – which was corroborated by a business statement – and then turned around to walk back home to his Lincoln Park residence.
A local T-Mobile cell tower tracking report had noted Hurst’s cellphone interacting with the tower at 4:49 a.m. Aug. 14, which reflects approximately a full 24-hour passage from his placement in Elmhurst to Sycamore.
The prosecution shared reason to believe the murders had taken place the evening of Aug. 14, 2016, as victims Patricia and Robert Wilson gave no visible indication of preparing for bed, as well as the fact that 85-year-old Patricia Wilson had not removed her next-morning medication from its pill organizer.
Hurst’s final cellular interaction occurred at 9:51 p.m. Aug. 15, 2016. The prosecution alleged this places Hurst in the Sycamore area during the likely time of the murders.
Before ending the state’s closing arguments, Locke reminded the jury of evidence not only placing Hurst in the area, but also inside the home.
DNA and fingerprints from evidence found in a “crawl space cubby” in the Wilson’s laundry room connect Hurst to a pillow, multiple Diet Coke cans as well as two knife handles. Other testing done throughout the Wilson home found samples of DNA and prints that matched Hurst on items like a Gatorade bottle and bathroom mirror.
Attorney Locke theorized Hurst had entered the Wilson residence without their knowledge, and had concealed himself in the “crawl space cubby” with a pillow, blanket, drinks and two knives. From here, he argued Patricia Wilson entered the laundry room, which startled Hurst, potentially causing him to murder her in a panic.
“The defendant was there, the defendant was arming himself, the defendant brutally murdered Patricia and Robert Wilson,” Locke said.
The state theorized that while on his “walk across Illinois” along Route 64, Hurst entered the Wilson residence and hid himself in the “crawl space cubby.” Attorney Scott Schwertley said “There is no doubt that he was in that cubby,.” citing an abundance of Hurst’s DNA found on items from the scene.
He theorized Hurst was startled when Patricia Wilson entered the room and this led to Hurst killing her. After this, he explained it is possible Hurst attempted to clean the scene and put Patricia’s body inside of the laundry room. From here, he would have entered Patricia’s bedroom and attempted to use clothing to replicate the appearance of a sleeping body inside of her bed.
Schwertley stated the intention may have been to buy time in order to leave the scene, but Robert Wilson arrived home soon later. From here, Hurst would have murdered him in a panic.
“If three people enter, one person leaves and the other two are dead, circumstantially the one person killed both of those people,” Schwertley said.
With the prosecution’s case presented to the jury, the defense took its turn to challenge the arguments.
Defense Attorney Charles Criswell opened his closing statement by acknowledging the difficult task assigned to the jury. Criswell also acknowledged the suffering undergone by the families of all parties involved, along with the DeKalb community.
Next, he reminded jurors “You are not here to ease their pain, you are here to make a determination.”
In his appeal to the jury, Criswell recounted potential “missing links” he claims were the prosecution’s obligation to provide in order to draw a fair conclusion beyond a reasonable doubt.
During final remarks, Criswell acknowledged DNA evidence placed Hurst inside of the Wilson residence but argued this was not sufficient to prove Hurst was guilty of murder.
“He’s charged with murdering them, not being there.” Criswell said.
In his argument, Criswell reminded jurors that of a dozen hammers collected, not a single one of them was tested for fingerprints or DNA. Further, he questioned the choices in evidence collected from the Wilson residence, stating that more potential DNA samples should have been swabbed at the crime scene and stolen vehicle. He made the argument that evidence that was not gathered could potentially have changed the direction of the case or even introduce other suspects.
“If investigators in this case don’t know something, you can’t be asked to know something,” Criswell said.
The prosecution briefly provided a rebuttal before the jury was called to deliberation at 1:45 p.m.
Before closing arguments were made, friends and family of Hurst testified on his behalf.
Danyel Duncan, a friend and former coworker of the suspect, attested to Hurst’s character as she has known it throughout their 20 years of friendship.
She described Hurst as “an amazingly gentle human” who is “absolutely not a violent person at all.”
When asked if she knew whether or not Hurst carried a violent reputation among friends and family, Duncan said he “hosted Friendsgiving every Thanksgiving for those of us without family.”
The final two testimonies shared were that of Craig and Laura Hurst.
Craig Hurst, the suspect’s younger brother and a business analyst for the Indiana State Department of Revenue, spoke to his knowledge of Jonathan Hurst’s character.
“He is as non-violent of a person I’ve ever known,” Craig Hurst said.
When asked if Jonathan Hurst was regarded as a “peaceful or caring” person, Laura Hurst – manager of a primary care clinic and the suspect’s older sister – said Jonathan Hurst “is the kind of person you go to when you need help.”
After the suspect’s family concluded testimony, Judge Marcy Buick dismissed the jury to recess before she spoke to Jonathan Hurst and his counsel.
Criswell announced Hurst would not testify on his own behalf. Hurst acknowledged that he independently and knowledgeably was choosing to waive his right to testify.
Both the defense counsel and prosecution rested, which called the end of evidence introduction for the case. After calling the jury back for closing statements, Buick reminded jurors that all statements made during closing statements were not considered evidence.
After the verdict was delivered, a press release from DeKalb County State’s Attorney Riley Oncken said because of the nature of the charges Hurst will serve mandatory life in prison without the possibility of parole.
“I hope that this verdict can bring closure to the Wilson family and to so many in the community that cared about Patricia and Robert Wilson,” Oncken said via the press release.
Hurst’s sentencing hearing is tentatively scheduled for 9:45 a.m. March 20.