JOLIET, Ill. — A jury has found a Joliet woman guilty of first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of a Channahon man two years ago.
Mary Vetor, 25, also was convicted of attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and home invasion. The jury deliberated for 3 1/2 hours before reaching its verdict.
Vetor faces a minimum of 56 years in prison when she is sentenced by Circuit Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak on Aug. 8.
According to Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow, Vetor supplied the weapons — a gun and a baseball bat — that were used during the home invasion inside the Channahon apartment of Joshua Terdic on July 7, 2009. Terdic was shot in the head during the home invasion and died 10 days later.
A female victim, Lauren Vasilakis, also was shot but survived the attack.
In addition to supplying the weapons, Vetor helped to hatch the plan to steal money and drugs from Terdic. She also drove the two men who carried out the plan to Terdic’s home.
“Although she never entered the residence, Mary Vetor provided the deadly weapons and was intimately involved in the planning and orchestration of this brutal attack,” Glasgow said.
“Because of her contemptible behavior, she is as responsible for the murder of Joshua Terdic as if she had placed the gun to his head and pulled the trigger. The jury heard all of the evidence and agreed.”
Two other defendants, Jason S. Orasco, 26, of Channahon, and Matthew Edwards, 19, of Joliet, also face charges of murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and home invasion in connection with the incident. They are awaiting trial.
A fourth defendant, Ashley Hill, 19, of Joliet, pleaded guilty to home invasion and was sentenced to 11 years in prison in exchange for her truthful testimony against Vetor.
All four were arrested by Channahon police a day after the shootings. Channahon Police Chief Joe Pena said at the time the four and the two victims were acquaintances.
“This was an isolated incident,” he noted. “They went in with intent; they knew what they were walking into.”
Pena said the four had planned the robbery, and took several items from the apartment. Police learned of the home invasion via a 911 call at daybreak the day of the incident.
“The neighbor called 911 after they heard screaming,” he said.
Edwards and Orasco entered the apartment, Pena said, while the two females, Vetor and Hill, assisted them in the crime.
The Will-Grundy Major Crimes Task Force assisted Channahon police in the investigation.
Because of the help of 34 area investigators and evidence technicians, all part of the task force that was working its first case following its June 1, 2009, inception, Channahon police made the arrests within 12 hours of the crime, Pena said.
Village Board President Joe Cook said at the time that this type of incident is not typical of Channahon, despite an attempted murder/suicide in the village and the finding of skeletal remains of a male in the DesPlaines River near Channahon not long before.
Pena said then that when people live in an area where the economy is taking its toll as was happening locally, their behavior is sometimes outside the norm.
“There are often several influencing factors to why people do what they do,” he said on July 8, 2009.
Glasgow credited his prosecutors — Assistant State’s Attorneys Michael Fitzgerald, who heads the office’s Felony Division; Christine Vukmir; and Daniel Walsh — for their expert work that left jurors with no doubt as to Vetor’s guilt. He also praised the Will County Major Crimes Task Force for a first-rate investigation.
