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Brown's Chicken massacre

Also known as: Palatine massacre

Active

1993–1993

Region

Palatine, Illinois, USA

State

IL

Kind

Mass

Status

Convicted

Victims

7

On the night of January 8, 1993, seven people were killed at closing time at the Brown's Chicken & Pasta restaurant in the Chicago suburb of Palatine: the owners, Richard and Lynn Ehlenfeldt, and five employees, two of them high school students. The case went unsolved for nine years until, in 2002, a former girlfriend of James Degorski told police that he and his friend Juan Luna had committed it, and Luna's DNA was matched to a piece of chicken left at the scene. Both men were arrested in May 2002. Luna was convicted in 2007 and Degorski in 2009, and each was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

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Victims

We remember the people whose lives were taken.

• Richard E. Ehlenfeldt, 50 · January 8, 1993

  Co-owner of the restaurant, from Arlington Heights.

• Lynn A. Ehlenfeldt, 49 · January 8, 1993

  Co-owner of the restaurant with her husband, from Arlington Heights.

• Guadalupe Maldonado, 46 · January 8, 1993

  A restaurant employee.

• Michael C. Castro, 16 · January 8, 1993

  A Palatine High School student who worked at the restaurant.

• Rico L. Solis, 17 · January 8, 1993

  A Palatine High School student who worked at the restaurant.

• Thomas Mennes, 32 · January 8, 1993

  A restaurant employee.

• Marcus Nellsen, 31 · January 8, 1993

  A restaurant employee.

Timeline of locations

1. January 8, 1993
   Brown's Chicken & Pasta, Northwest Highway, Palatine (Crime scene)

   The seven victims were killed after closing. Police found them in the early morning after worried relatives called when the workers did not come home. The building was razed in 2001, and a bank branch was built on the site in 2009.

2. May 16, 2002
   Arrests by Palatine police (Arrest, approximate area)

   After the 2002 tip and the DNA match, Palatine police arrested Degorski and Luna on May 16, 2002. Both later gave statements their lawyers said were coerced.

3. 2007
   Stateville Correctional Center (Prison)

   Both men served their life sentences at Stateville until it closed in 2025, when they were moved to other Illinois prisons.

4. May 10, 2007
   Cook County Circuit Court, Chicago (Court / trial, approximate area)

   Luna and Degorski were tried separately in Cook County Circuit Court. Luna was convicted on May 10, 2007, and Degorski on September 29, 2009; both were sentenced to life without parole after juries fell short of the unanimity needed for death.

Watch, listen, read

Sources

• Brown's Chicken massacre (Wikipedia)
• 20 Years Ago Today, Brown's Chicken Massacre (CBS Chicago)
• No New Trial for Degorski, Judge Rules (NBC Chicago)

Each location also lists its own sources in the data file.