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Steven M. Tomporowski, of Westchester, Ill. (AP) |
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Judge finds Illinois teen guilty in triple slaying
By Associated Press
Thursday, October 28, 2004RICHLAND CENTER, Wis. - A judge found an Illinois teen guilty Wednesday of gunning down his parents and uncle at a southwestern Wisconsin farmhouse, rejecting claims that he was insane when he committed the murders.
Steven M. Tomporowski, 18, had pleaded not guilty by reason of mental defect or disease to the three slayings, claiming schizophrenia made him unable to control his actions.
But Richland County Circuit Judge Edward Leineweber said Tomporowski's bizarre behavior could be explained by the teen's heavy use of LSD. He said there was evidence the teen faked mental illness in an effort to escape punishment.
He also cited testimony that Tomporowski told friends before the slayings that he hated his parents and wanted to kill them.
Tomporowski faces up to three life sentences when he is sentenced. A hearing has not been set. Had Leineweber found him insane, the teen would have been committed to a mental institution.
Tomporowski, of Westchester, Ill., admitted killing his parents and uncle in February at the farmhouse his grandfather used as a second home.
The bodies of Tomporowski's parents, Stephen J. Tomporowski, 52, and Deborah Tomporowski, 48, both of Westchester, and his uncle, Roger M. Tomporowski, 56, of Arlington Heights, Ill., were found Feb. 16.
Authorities said he shot the two men and then lured his mother to the farmhouse, about 70 miles northwest of Madison, by telling her the men had car trouble.
``This case can only be described as a tragedy,'' said John Wabaunsee, Tomporowski's attorney. ``These are terrible crimes, these are heinous crimes.''
Wabaunsee said Tomporowski started deteriorating mentally several years ago and used drugs to self-medicate his mental illness. A court-appointed psychologist testified last week that Tomporowski told her he had taken LSD every day for at least a year before the murders.
But Richland County District Attorney Andrew Sharp said the only psychiatrist to diagnose the teen with schizophrenia was a defense expert who examined him after his arrest. A doctor who treated him for a year before the murders never made that diagnosis.
( © Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. )
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