Opening statements lay foundation for murder trial

Mackowiak hit Twardowski so hard the wood handle of the shovel broke and the victim was still fighting before he finally went down. Towne said the defendant then moved the wife's body into the den next to her husband and tied them up together.

"They were united in marriage, bound in death," the state's attorney said.

Mackowiak ransacked the house and stole their car, which he used when he went to purchase food, liquor and cell phone minutes. He then went back for the friend he felt "did him wrong" by giving him the wrong directions. The friend was David Dulabahn, Towne said.

In the defense's statement, Dulabahn is accused of being a part of the crime. According to other published reports, Mackowiak has said on record Dulabahn was the one who committed the blows that killed the couple. Police have not charged Dulabahn.

Towne continued to say Mackowiak took Dulabahn to the crime scene. When Dulabahn wouldn't go inside, Mackowiak came back and put blood on his friend's T-shirt.

Mackowiak then dropped Dulabahn off, ditched the car and hid out in the woods, where he then decides to call his girlfriend for hospital phone numbers to try and get an ambulance sent to the Twardowski house. He eventually called Morris Hospital several times. Hospital personnel gave the information to police, who later found the couple, Towne said.

Mackowiak eventually ended up hiding in a shed on property on which he used to live. It is there where he was eventually found by police.

After two interviews where the defendant tried to manipulate police with misinformation, he requested a third interview, during which he told police of his hideout in the woods filled with evidence, including a portion of the shirt he wore that day containing his and Mr. Twardowski's DNA. He also told officers where he disposed of the gloves he wore, inside his Wendy's bag he threw in a ditch. The gloves were found and also have DNA, Towne said.

"There's one word for the brutal attacks that man engaged in on July 11, 2007, and that word is murder," he said.

'WHO BRUTALLY MURDERED THEM?'

Mackowiak's appointed attorney, Gerald Kielian of Joliet, Ill., told the jurors a different story. One of a drug addict who did not act alone.

"You may hear things that make you think, why am I here?," Kielian said. "This is a slam-dunk case, but you have been chosen to be jurors because we have faith you can be fair and impartial and you have a duty to be fair and impartial to Keith Mackowiak."

He continued, saying  it's the prosecution's job to prove Mackowiak guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

In his opening statement, the defense attorney said the audio and video interviews that will be shown include early statements Mackowiak made, stating he would only talk if they would go for the death penalty. He told police he wanted a guarantee he would be put to death, Kielian said. And this wasn't the first time he wanted to be put to death. Mackowiak has a history of trying to kill himself.

"On July 11, he was looking for the court to assist him in what he was never able to do himself and that was kill himself," Kielian said. He continued that Mackowiak was on a four-day binge of drinking and drugs, and he couldn't remember much other than that he wanted to die.

The defense said police used Mackowiak's addiction to cigarettes against him. They allowed him to smoke in a public building the entire time he was interviewed, getting him to talk more since he could not smoke in his cell.

Kielian told jurors Mackowiak was fed information by detectives. He didn't recall on his own stealing the car, picking anyone up or that the victims were tied up, he said. Kielian said he was preparing the jury to listen for such leading by detectives when they hear the tapes.

Detectives used many influences, and broke some rules, he said, such as making reference of talking to Mackowiak while they were not being videotaped.

Throughout interviews with detectives, Mackowiak was consistently covering for Dulabahn and said he acted alone, despite detectives repeatedly telling him they knew someone else was involved, Kielian said. He told police 28 times Dulabahn had nothing to do with it.

"... because he wants to die anyway, he might as well cover for his friend," Kielian said.

Once Mackowiak realized Dulabahn was trying to pin everyone on him, he told the police Dulabahn knew more than he was leading on.

"This is important because Keith went from covering for David Dulabahn to stating he was with him the whole time," Kielian said. "(The detective) knew someone else was involved with this because he says 'someone else was there with you.'"

Kielian said the detectives asked if he was lying when he said previously the attacks started right when he entered the home.

"He said 'I was telling the truth, I just wasn't the one doing the hitting,'" said Kielian, alluding to what Mackowiak told detectives.

"The question is, who brutally murdered them?" the defense said.

Mackowiak eventually told detectives another girlfriend of his, Jennifer Bartlett, not the one he called for hospital numbers, was also involved in the attacks.

"This case is filled with doubt, and after you hear all the evidence, because of all the reasonable doubt in this case, the only one verdict is going to be not guilty," Kielian said.

After opening statements, Randy Kaufmann, grandson of the couple, was the first of the witnesses to begin testifying.

Testimony continued throughout the day, detailing the timeline of Mackowiak's day through phone records and call accounts. Morris Hospital personnel, on scene officers and an EMT worker testified before the lunch recess. Testimony continued after.