William Kunkle, lead prosecutor of the infamous serial killer, died over the weekend at his west suburban home.
At the end of an exhaustive, harrowing five-week trial for serial killer John Wayne Gacy, career prosecutor William J. Kunkle Jr. gave what many considered a finishing blow to Gacy’s defense.
The chief deputy state’s attorney who successfully prosecuted Gacy through to the killer’s 1994 execution was remembered as a relentless but ethical prosecutor who could adroitlyAfter earning his law degree from Northwestern University in 1969, the Ohio native started his legal career as an assistant public defender.
After State’s Attorney Bernard Carey named Kunkle the first chair in the prosecution, Kunkle assembled a team of thorough attorneys that included Sullivan and prosecutors Robert Egan and Lawrence Finder.Many court observers thought Kunkle had a “slam-dunk” case, or rather an easy prosecution, because most of Gacy’s 33 victims were found underneath his unincorporated Cook County home.
A police photo shows part of the crawl space in the Norwood Park Township home of John Wayne Gacy after bodies had been unearthed by investigators. Twenty-six bodies were found in the crawl space of the home.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
William Kunkle, retired judge and prosecutor in John Wayne Gacy case, dies at 81Kunkle also appeared as a legal analyst on CBS 2 alongside attorney Adam Bourgeois Sr. back in the 1990s.
Read more »
William J. Kunkle Jr., prosecutor in John Wayne Gacy case, dead at 81William J. Kunkle Jr. used the experience of prosecuting John Wayne Gacy to teach others about the trial and its legal peculiarities.
Read more »
William J. Kunkle Jr., prosecutor in John Wayne Gacy case, dead at 81As the prosecutor who secured the death penalty for serial killer John Wayne Gacy, William J. Kunkle Jr. could have coasted on the celebrity of the case for the rest of his career.
Read more »
'I didn't believe it;' Wayne County lotto winner thought her $100,000 prize was a scam“I got a call one afternoon and the caller ID showed it was from the state of Michigan which I thought was strange,” said the player. “I assumed it was a scam call and I almost didn’t answer, but then decided to at the last minute.'
Read more »