Jury Convicts Trusted Ex-Client of Murdering Elderly Ex-Lawyer and Stealing His Guns
Updated: Both Keith Allen and Terry Bratcher each say the other man actually smothered an elderly former criminal defense lawyer to death in his suburban Chicago home in 2009.
But Allen, who is now 23, pleaded guilty earlier this year to the first-degree murder of Carl Kuhn and was sentenced to 46 years. So a DuPage County jury had to decide only whether Bratcher also committed the same crime. It didn’t take long: The unusual six-member panel began deliberating today and found Bratcher guilty within hours of first-degree murder, armed robbery and home invasion, reports the Chicago Tribune.
Because Bratcher, 45, was also found guilty of wanton cruelty, he could get a life sentence, the newspaper says. Otherwise, he would face a potential sentencing range of 20 to 60 years.
Bratcher told police he straddled 82-year-old Carl Kuhn and forced his face down into a pillow. But couldn’t bring himself to finish the elderly man off, he said, and left the room while Allen did so, according to earlier Chicago Tribune coverage and other news reports.
The government contends, however, that Bratcher did kill Kuhn, suffocating him after he refused to turn over the combination to a safe in his Bartlett-area home, according to the Daily Herald.
A previous Tribune article provides additional details about the trial.
A trusted former client of the longtime criminal defense lawyer and World War II military veteran, Bratcher did odd jobs for Kuhn, worked on his car and took him to the movies. Bratcher and Allen, who met each other while attending a Cook County drug court program, allegedly concocted a scheme to rob Kuhn, who was an avid gun collector and had about 200 firearms, many of them valuable antiques.
Bratcher, who didn’t even have to knock before entering Kuhn’s home, according to testimony, allegedly called Allen on a cellphone after he arrived and let Allen in. But instead of the seeming stranger robbery by a masked third party that the defense said Bratcher expected, the situation went bad and Kuhn was killed.
The two were arrested after Bratcher’s mother found a gun in her car and called police. They discovered additional firearms, allegedly from Kuhn’s collection, in the family’s garage.
A longtime practitioner, Kuhn had trouble keeping up with his legal work while he was caring for his ailing wife before her death about five years ago, another Chicago Tribune article reported. He was suspended and then, when he continued to practice, disbarred in 2005.
Earlier coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Guilty Plea in Elderly Ex-Lawyer’s Murder Includes Promise to Testify Against Another Defendant”
ABAJournal.com: “Man Gets 46 Years in Elderly Ex-Lawyer’s Slaying, Expected to Testify Against Ex-Client Co-Defendant”
Courier-News: “Tape shows man denying, then admitting, killing gun group official for his guns “
Updated at 4:45 p.m. to include latest Tribune coverage and news of jury verdict.
