Timothy Banowetz, who was convicted of murdering asbestos attorney Randy Gori, has filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea and vacate his 70-year prison sentence.
Banowetz, currently an inmate at the Pontiac Correctional Center, asked on Dec. 5, 2022, for his guilty plea to be withdrawn and to be brought back to Madison County to stand trial.
“The plea was not made voluntarily and was made because of both coercion and inadequate representation,” Banowetz wrote in his motion. “I was told by my lawyer that I should take the deal because it was what the Gori family wanted.”
Banowetz reached a plea deal on Oct. 5, 2021. He agreed to plead guilty to first degree murder of Randy Gori and two armed robbery charges of minors Grace and Ethan Gori. All other charges were dismissed.
He was sentenced on Dec. 10, 2021, to 60 years for the murder charge and 10 years for each armed robbery charge, to run concurrent with each other but consecutively with the murder sentence.
Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Haine said during the sentencing hearing that Banowetz must serve at least 65 years of his 70-year sentence and will be imprisoned until he is at least 93 years old.
Banowetz wrote in his motion to vacate the sentence that former Madison County Sheriff John Lakin moved him out of protective custody and into the prison’s general population. He does not specify if terms of custody was part of his deal.
He also wrote that Public Defender Mary Copeland “said in court that there had been a complete breakdown in communication between us. She never showed me my full discovery or discussed a defense strategy. Copeland said that her only job was to make sure that my conviction would hold up on appeal.”
Banowetz claims he asked Copeland to request a change of venue after allegedly learning that Gori made campaign contributions to Democrat elected officials, including Napp and Lakin. He claims his guilty plea should be withdrawn because the request was never filed and Napp did not recuse herself.
Banowetz wrote that a gag order was entered, and his phone privileges were revoked after he raised concerns about Gori’s contributions during an interview with St. Louis news station, KMOV.
According to campaign finance records, Gori, his former partner Barry Julian, and their firm contributed roughly $33,036 to Napp and $3,739.44 to Lakin.
When Napp ran for judge in 2012, Gori paid KMOV-TV $4,500 for advertising. Julian paid New World Post of St. Louis $4,336 for video production. They each contributed $500 to Napp's campaign committee and their firm contributed $1,000.
Their total support of $10,836 covered about 10 percent of expenditures.
In 2018, the firm contributed $11,000 to a joint committee for retention of Napp and former Chief Judge Dave Hylla. Randy Gori contributed $6,450 and wife Beth Gori contributed $4,750 to the committee.
Total support for retention from the firm and the Gori family totaled $22,200, covering about 18 percent of expenditures.
When Lakin ran for sheriff in 2014, Julian spent $2,539.44 on food for a fund raising event. The firm contributed $200 to Lakin's committee in 2016 and $500 in 2018. Julian's wife Gaye Julian contributed $500 to Lakin on Feb. 15, 2020, - about a month after Gori died.
After Banowetz moved for a plea withdrawal and vacated sentence, Napp gave Banowetz 30 days to notify the court if he wants appointment of counsel to aid in his pursuit. He failed to respond, so she set a status conference for April 13 to discuss the issue of counsel.
On March 6, Assistant State’s Attorney Chad Loughrey filed a motion to dismiss Banowetz’s request.
He argues that Banowetz made a “knowing, voluntary waiver of his rights and entered into a negotiated ‘open’ guilty plea.”
Loughrey wrote that Banowetz had 30 days from the date of his sentencing to file a motion to withdraw his plea “and was properly admonished of such in open court by Napp.”
“Banowetz has failed to timely file his motion to withdraw his guilty plea and as such the circuit court lacks jurisdiction to modify or vacate its judgment,” he wrote.
Loughrey wrote that Banowetz filed a 1-109 certificate according to the “mailbox rule exception,” claiming he deposited a notarized pleading in the mail while at Graham Correctional Center on Dec. 20, 2021, at 10 a.m., “nearly 11 months before it was received by the court.”
Loughrey noted that Banowetz’s certificate was notarized by Clinical Services Supervisor Autumn Parker on Jan. 4, 2022, which is nearly two weeks after the date he claims he deposited the pleading in the mail.
He added that the Illinois Department of Corrections has no record of Banowetz mailing any legal documents during his time at Graham Correctional Center.
“There is no practical explanation how the defendant’s pleading could have been mailed on December 20, 2021, yet not be received by the Clerk of the Court until December 5, 2022,” Loughrey wrote. “There is no evidence that the defendant made any inquiry or attempt to determine the status of his pleading at any time after the date he purported to deposit said plead (sic) in the U.S. mail.”
Based upon that information, Loughrey argues that Banowetz’s certificate is false, he should not be allowed the benefit of the “mailbox rule exception,” and his motion should be dismissed.
Just before the sentencing hearing began in December 2021, Banowetz chose to proceed pro se and attempted to withdraw his guilty plea at that time. Copeland told Napp that Banowetz informed her that he would no longer like her to represent him just “moments before.”
“It is an unusual situation that the court finds itself in today,” Napp said.
Napp first addressed his pro-se request, urging Banowetz to allow Copeland to represent him and making sure he understood the risks he was taking.
“I will give you the opportunity to represent yourself at this sentencing hearing,” Napp said. “I don’t think it’s a good idea, Mr. Banowetz. And I wish you wouldn’t make that decision. But ultimately the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of Illinois says that you have that right.”
Napp asked Copeland to remain as a “standby counsel,” so Banowetz could ask her questions if necessary.
When Napp asked him about the pre-sentencing investigation and addendums, his response could not be heard but must have been related to his request to withdraw the guilty plea.
Napp told him they were not there to withdraw a plea. She said he could file a post-conviction motion to withdraw his plea after the sentencing.
“Mr. Banowetz, we’re going to a sentencing hearing today because I don’t believe that you are going to cooperate with anything,” Napp said. “You’re going to throw up roadblocks every chance you get to stop this, just like you did the trial. So we’re going to proceed to a sentencing hearing today. And I will give you your appeal rights, and you can appeal. But you’re not going to keep throwing up roadblocks. You have rights and I will ensure that they are all followed to a T, but I’m not going to let you play games anymore.”
Jan. 4, 2020
Detective Lieutenant Bryan Bauer of the Madison County Sheriff’s Department testified that at 11:30 a.m. on Jan. 4, 2020, the owner of a wooded farm property near Gori’s Mooney Creek Lane home in Edwardsville called about an abandoned black Ford F150 truck parked near a cell tower. The vehicle’s plates were removed and the VIN plate was covered with clothing. Officers gained entry and was able to run the VIN plate, finding that it matched Banowetz. He testified that officers found a map of the area and located the two license plates in the center console.
Bauer said the license plates were associated with two different addresses. The first was College of the Ozarks near Branson, Mo., which is where Banowetz attended college more than 10 years ago. The second address was in Wentzville, Mo. He said officers made contact with the current resident of the Wentzville address, but the resident had no knowledge of who Banowetz was.
Bauer said officers contacted Banowetz’s parents, who said their son had “little to no contact” with the family.
Bauer testified that prior records show that Banowetz’s mother previously contacted the O’Fallon Police Department to report that her son suffered from depression or suicidal thoughts. He said the officers then “stepped up” their search efforts using drones, all terrain vehicles and k-9 units. Banowetz was not found.
Bauer testified that shortly before 9 p.m., the department received an emergency call at Gori’s home. He said Gori’s girlfriend, Caroline Kasa, made the “frantic” call. He said she was there to meet Gori’s children for the first time and parked near the detached garage. She had two adult German shepherd dogs with her. While she was outside, she was confronted by a masked individual with a “large knife.” Bauer said the man came at her “aggressively.” The dogs attacked the masked individual, who grabbed her keys and threw them into the wooded area. He then left in Gori’s 2020 Rolls Royce Cullinan.
Bauer testified that when officers arrived, they could see Gori’s children through a window in the laundry room with their hands bound behind their backs with zip ties.
Gori was found in a basement bedroom near the bar area. He was deceased when officers arrived after suffering 40 stab wounds to the back and an incised wound to the neck.
Exterior surveillance cameras showed the family parking outside the garage and beginning to enter the home through the garage. Detective Sergeant Tim Lawrence with the Madison County Sheriff’s Department’s cyber crime’s division provided testimony on the computer forensics.
He said they primarily focused on the cameras viewing the driveway, the parking area, and the detached garage. The surveillance footage was shown during the hearing, which depicted Gori and his children parking outside the home, exiting the vehicle and walking towards the garage. A masked individual is seen running up to the family with a gun pointing at them. Startled, they put their hands up and can be seen getting down on the ground. The masked individual then appears to be binding their hands behind their backs and instructing them to get up. The children appear to be ordered inside. Then the masked individual grabs Gori and walks in with him.
After the murder
Bauer said that as they were searching the area after the murder, an individual matching Banowetz’s description approached them and identified himself. Bauer said Banowetz obtained his wallet to provide his identification, and investigators witnessed that Banowetz’s wallet was full of cash and would not completely close. Investigators later learned the wallet contained $4,660.
Banowetz was wearing shorts, tennis shoes and a hooded sweatshirt with a few shirts underneath. He said he was looking for his truck after attending a bonfire there a couple weeks ago. Bauer said the property owner said there was no bonfire in the area. Banowetz provided no answers to questions about who he was with during the alleged bonfire.
Banowetz was taken in for questioning. While being patted down for weapons, investigators noticed a blood-like substance on the bottom of one of his shirts. The shirt was later sent to the Illinois State crime lab, and the blood matched Gori’s DNA.
Bauer said that while Banowetz was being questioned, investigators located the Rolls Royce. They found a blood-like substance on the steering wheel. The DNA matched both Gori and Banowetz.
Bauer testified that detectives searched Banowetz’s “study room” at the St. Louis College of Pharmacy, where he was a student, and recovered two computers and a cell phone. He said a forensic analysis was completed on the computers, but they were unable to gain access to the cell phone.
He said the phone was attached to a machine through the secret service for a year and a half in attempts to unlock the device. He said Banowetz eventually said he knew the code and was given opportunities to unlock the phone but couldn’t provide the correct password.
In a second interview, Bauer said Banowetz told detectives that he had an “extreme disdain for people with wealth and thought life was easy for them while others struggle.”
Bauer added that once Banowetz was pushed to provide details of the crime and why, he would say, “I couldn’t talk about it, but you have all the answers. There’s nothing you need to know from me. You already have all the answers.”
Bauer testified that he was unable to determine any connection between Banowetz and Gori.
Detective Lieutenant Brian Koberna with the Madison County Sheriff’s Office testified about the search history and contents extracted from Banowetz’s computers. Koberna said his analysis of the computer showed no connection between Gori and Banowetz.
Koberna said Banowetz performed “extensive searches” on Gori and his family dating back to September 2019. He searched for Instagram photographs of the family, researched the law firm, property addresses, tax records, and other in-depth research related to Gori.
Koberna explained that Banowetz would research things related to Gori and then start looking at fake guns, zip ties, and other related searches.
Steve Korris contributed to this article.