Trial dates set for SIU student’s death
August 31, 1993
MURPHYSBORO, Ill. (AP)—Two of six Carbondale nightclub employees charged in the death of a Southern Illinois University student will go on trial this month.
A Jackson County grand jury indicted the six, who are or were SIU students, in the Feb. 5 death of freshman Jose Waight during a scuffle at Checkers nightclub. They are charged with involuntary manslaughter, aggravated battery, misdemeanor battery and reckless conduct.
Waight, 24, died of asphyxiation, according to an autopsy. He was from the Chicago suburb of South Holland.
Judge David Watt Jr. on Monday set a Sept. 20 jury trial date for Edmund Bart, 23, of Aurora.
Watt set a Sept. 28 bench trial for Steven Crawford, 22, of Tampico. A bench trial for Charles Hicks, 22, of Jacksonville, Fla., will follow after Crawford’s trial, which is expected to last about three days.
An Oct. 18 jury trial was set for Richard Wojcik, 23, of Stickney, a Chicago suburb, and Jeffrey Judd, 23, of Creal Springs. Their cases were consolidated.
Watt also set a Nov. 1 jury trial for Martin Todd Lewis, 25, of Benton.