Professional Documents
Culture Documents
CHICAGOS BEST
A WATCHDOGS INVESTIGATION
SPORTS
PEAVYGOOD IN1STSTART
NATION
PAGE 7
For the first time, the Chicago Police said Friday they know who hit David Koschman and knocked him to the ground in a drunken confrontation in the Rush Street area, leading to his death from a brain injury 11 days later but theyre not telling. They said they are closing Koschmans 2004 homicide case without asking the Cook County states attorneys office to charge anyone because they concluded the punch was thrown in self-defense. Police reports made public Friday black out the name of the man who detectives concluded threw the lone punch at Koschman. But the descriptions they provided and accounts given by witnesses and others to the Chicago Sun-Times make clear it was Richard J. R.J. Vanecko, a nephew of Mayor Daley and White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley. Vanecko, 36, has refused to speak to the police on the advice of his criminal-defense lawyers, including Terence Gillespie, according to the police. As Koschman lay unconscious on Division Street at Dearborn, Vanecko and a friend, Craig Denham, ran away, jumped in a cab and headed to a bar, according to the police reports released Friday. Detectives began re-interviewing witnesses after receiving a Jan. 4 Sun-
David Koschman, seen here in his Prospect High School graduation photo
Times request for all reports on the case. The police initially refused to release anything but a heavily redacted, two-page report, citing an ongoing criminal investigation of the nearly 7-year-old case. They released a halfinch-thick stack of documents on Friday, blacking out most names in the reports, after now closing the case without seeking any charges. They classified it CLEARED CLOSED / EXCEPTIONALLY. The announcement that police have closed the case came as Ald. Howard Brookins (21st) and Ald. Freddrenna Lyle (6th) called for further investigation into the police departments handling of the case. Brookins called on federal authorities to step in. They need to take another look at it so the public is satisfied that it isnt a cover-up, Brookins said. It should be more than: Investigation closed. The police and the states attorneys office originally declined to charge anyone, saying witnesses couldnt positively identify who threw the punch. The witnesses did identify other members of Vaneckos group but said none of them had punched Koschman. In reports from their original investigation in 2004, detectives said Koschmans own friends told them he was the aggressor. Those reports said
Koschmans friends told them they pulled him away from a group that included Vanecko and that Koschman ran back towards them and then got punched in the face. In interviews with the Sun-Times, Koschmans friends acknowledged that he was yelling but said he never ran at the other group and that he never physically threatened anyone. The 21-year-old from Mount Prospect stood 5-feet-5 and weighed 140 pounds. Vanecko was 6-feet-3 and 230 pounds at the time. The new police reports, prepared by Detective James Gilger and dated six days ago, said two of Koschmans friends told detectives in recent interviews that he was walking toward the Vanecko group when he was hit. All four of Koschmans friends Scott Allen, James Copeland, David Francis and Shaun Hageline told the police they are willing to take lie-detector tests. Vaneckos friends would not agree to be interviewed again by the police, instead standing by the statements they gave in 2004, in which they all said they didnt see who punched Koschman. Two unbiased witnesses to the altercation co-workers Michael Connolly and Phillip Kohler gave differing accounts to police. In the reports of the most recent police interviews, detectives said Connolly told them that Koschman appeared to have been pushed during a heated argument. Theres no men-
SATURDAY
Astrology................ 28 Classifieds.............. 26 Comics ...............19-21 Commentary........... 14 Crosswords....21, 29, 31 Guy ........................ 13 Hitchens................. 14 Money .................... 13
LOTTERIES
For tickets dated Friday, March 4, 2011 ILLINOIS
Midday Pick 3820 Midday Pick 48417 Evening Pick 3980 Evening Pick 45071 Little Lotto 01 05 25 30 37 Lotto Grand Prize $5.5 million Mega Millions 08 10 15 23 41 Mega Ball07 Megaplier4 Grand Prize $105 million Powerball jackpot $25 million Midday Lucky 5 02 07 08 15 20 Evening Lucky 5 01 06 17 20 26 Mix & Match 26 30 33 43 49 Lotto Grand Prize $8.5 Million
Movies ................... 16 Obituaries .............. 23 Showcase ............... 15 Sudoku...................20 Sweet .......................6 TV listings .............. 22 Weather.................. 25 Wiser...................... 15
Evening Pick 3749 Evening Pick 48461 Fantasy 5 13 15 30 33 35 Classic 47 Jackpot $3.5 million
BRANT MILLERS
TODAYS HIGH TONIGHTS LOW
Rain-snow mix early, turning to snow. Snow ending tonight. MORE WEATHER, PAGE 25
WEATHER WATCH
34 22
WISCONSIN
Pick 3943 Pick 41051 Badger 5 09 14 15 25 27 Super Cash 02 10 16 28 29 32 Megabucks jackpot $3.3 million
INDIANA
Midday Daily 3556 Midday Daily 44627 Daily 3897 Daily 48654
MICHIGAN
Midday Daily 3551 Midday Pick 43577