Jury to deliberate for 2nd day in Joliet casino murder case

After roughly eight hours, the jury in the Robert Watson trial was not yet able to reach a verdict where a homeless man has been charged with fatally stabbing a hotel guest four years ago at Harrah’s Casino in Joliet.

Judge Dave Carlson dismissed the jury shortly after 8 p.m. on Thursday, after they spent nearly eight hours trying and failing to reach a unanimous verdict on whether Robert Watson, 29, is guilty of the murder of Emanuel “Sam” Burgarino, 76, at the Harrah’s casino hotel in Joliet.

The jury will return Friday to continue its deliberations.

“Hopefully you can get to a resolution,” Carlson told the jury.

Before the jury was called back into the courtroom for its dismissal, Carlson told both parties in the Watson case that he received a note from the jury. He said the note said there was one juror who was reportedly holding out and believe one of the jurors is biased for personal reasons.

One of the issues the jury must decide is whether Watson is guilty of Burgarino’s murder, but mentally ill or not guilty of the crime by reason of insanity.

Watson’s attorneys have contended he suffers from schizophrenia and have asked the jury to find him not criminally responsible because he lacks a substantial capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct.

During Thursday’s closing arguments, Will County Assistant State’s Attorney William Lite said Burgarino was pepper-sprayed and brutally murdered by Watson and the evidence against him was “overwhelming.”

“He didn’t stab him once. He stabbed him multiple times,” Lite said.

Lite cited the surveillance videos that he said showed Watson scoping out the entire property of the casino before his attack on Burgarino on the fifth floor of the hotel, where there are no cameras.

Lite pointed out how Glenn Hill, a guest at the hotel, was able to identify Watson in court as the man he saw striking Burgarino with stabbing-like motions.

“Unfortunately for the defendant, he didn’t expect to get caught by Mr. Hill,” Lite said.

Lite said Watson was trying to avoid his apprehension by police when he runs away from the casino and tossed away the bloody knife and clothes, which had DNA evidence tying Watson to the crime.

“He does that because he knows what he did was wrong,” Lite said.

One of Watson’s three attorneys, Shenonda Tisdale, said they have proven he suffers from schizophrenia and asked the jury to find him not guilty by reason of insanity.

She said the case was tragic because Burgarino lost his life and Watson was once a “good kid” who was smart and could have done more with his life.

“He could’ve been one of the lawyers in the room,” Tisdale said.

Tisdale said Watson has shown the symptoms of schizophrenia for a long time, such as delusions, hallucinations and disorganized speech.

“You just can’t pretend for this length of time,” Tisdale said.

She also argued drug use cannot explain all of those symptoms exhibited by Watson when he’s spent four years in jail, a place where he has no access to drugs or alcohol.

Yet Tisdale also said that many times, Watson will “minimize his symptoms.”

Tisdale said psychologist Anna Stapleton lacks the experience and training to identify schizophrenia. Stapleton found Watson could appreciate and understand the criminality of his actions.

Tisdale said while Stapleton would categorize Watson’s wandering around Harrah’s casino as “exploring,” she would “categorize it as homelessness.” She said Watson took minimal effort to avoid capture by police because he was caught at the Joliet Public Library, which is a short distance from the casino.

Tisdale said Watson acts according to his delusions and speculated that Watson may have attacked Burgarino because he believed he was part of the mob or a spirit.

“You can make those reasonable inferences,” Tisdale told the jury.

Will County Assistant State’s Attorney Tom Slazyk said Watson’s defense was odd because his attorneys are asserting he is not guilty of the crime but if the jury believes otherwise, they should find him not guilty by reason of insanity.

Slazyk said psychiatrist Monica Argumedo did not come to a conclusion as to whether Watson was insane at the time of Burgarino’s slaying. And yet the jury is supposed to decide that issue, he said.

“Did he know the criminality of his conduct? Absolutely,” Slazyk said.

Slazyk suggested Watson stole gloves at the casino to hide his fingerprints and DNA and that he was on the fifth floor of the casino’s hotel because he knows there’s no cameras there. Slazyk also pointed to the video of Watson running away from the casino moments after Burgarino’s death.

“Why is he running if he doesn’t know the criminality of his conduct?” Slazyk said.