Boshears Did Not Shoot Katie Kearns: Retired Detective Testifies

Joliet IL

27 April, 2022

1:00 AM

Description

JOLIET, IL — Leading up to the murder trial of Joliet Outlaw Jeremy Boshears, one of the top objectives of the Will County State's Attorney's Office was to prevent Arthur Borchers from testifying to his conclusions in the gunshot death of Katie Kearns. However, the pre-trial rulings went against the Will County prosecutors. On Tuesday afternoon, jurors listened intently as the retired Oak Park Police Department detective sergeant, who works as a forensic expert with Larsen Forensics & Associates in Glen Ellyn, took the witness stand for criminal defense attorney Chuck Bretz as his expert witness. "That she died as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound," Borchers told the jury. Borchers has been reviewing case reports and police photographs surrounding the death of Kearns for at least three years. Borchers worked for the Oak Park Police Department from 1982 until 2013. He was a detective sergeant, evidence technician and a watch commander. "He is a pistol, rifle, shotgun and simunitions instructor, a pistol and rifle armorer, and a range master," his bio with Larsen & Associates notes. With permission from the Joliet Outlaws, Borchers visited the clubhouse in Joliet's Ingalls Park area to perform his own forensic analysis of the Nov. 13, 2017 death scene. Attorney Chuck Bretz has been calling witnesses to show jurors that Katie Kearns fatally shot herself at the Joliet Outlaws. John Ferak/Patch During Tuesday's trial, Borchers showed a PowerPoint of slides from his ballistics tests he performed using several layers of sheet rock. He also did a shooting re-enactment using a dead pig. At one point, Bretz approached his witness and handed him an unloaded gun. Holding the gun, Borchers showed jurors how Kearns put the weapon against her head, taking her own life. One of the most important factors in Borchers' analysis was the trajectory of the deadly bullet that penetrated Kearns' skull. On several occasions Tuesday, Borchers held the unloaded gun to his own head and showed the jury how Kearns was pointing the gun at an upward angle — and that's why the bullet ended up inside the rafters of the clubhouse. Defense attorney Chuck Bretz has been calling witnesses to show jurors that Katie Kearns fatally shot herself at the Joliet Outlaws clubhouse. John Ferak/Patch Borchers testified he believes Kearns shot herself adjacent to the small stage, an area in the Joliet Outlaws clubhouse where there would not be much room for Boshears to stand next to her and shoot her during a struggle. That the bullet ended up inside the ceiling rafters of the Joliet Outlaws property was significant, Borchers testified. Last week, a Will County Sheriff's CSI testified he cut a hole into the ceiling and eventually found the large bullet inside the pink insulation of the Joliet Outlaws roof. If the first-degree murder defendant killed Kearns, Borchers testified, the gunshot would not have been angled upward and into the ceiling. "If I pushed a pistol against an unwilling person, the gunshot would hit that wall over there, not the wall up there," Borchers said, referring to the area inside the Joliet Outlaws. Borchers said the deadly gunshot was fired at an angle of 32 degrees. Defense expert Arthur Borchers said the deadly gunshot was fired at an angle of 32 degrees.Image via John Ferak/Patch As far as the murder defendant putting the gun to Kearns' head and the bullet penetrating the ceiling, "it doesn't work out," the retired detective sergeant told jurors. "Miss Kearns is 4-foot-11 or 4-foot-10 and Mr. Boshears is 5-foot-8, I think. So we're looking at a 10-inch difference between two people," Borchers testified. "He would either have to be on his knees or some (similar) position around her." Borchers told the jury that the Will County Sheriff's Office CSI unit performed subpar work in the case. The Will County Sheriff's Office did not follow commonly accepted professional practices in terms of collecting evidence and photographing evidence. He said that Will County Sheriff's officials did not take any photos of the new smoke detector Boshears installed above the bullet hole in the ceiling showing the new smoke detector in its original form. Photos like the one below were taken — with a sheriff official's hand holding the object, he testified. Furthermore, Borchers testified it appeared Will County sheriff's "altered the hole" where the bullet went into the ceiling, before taking other crime-scene photos. Retired Oak Park Police Detective Arthur Borchers testified Will County's CSI unit did not do a good job inside the Joliet Outlaws property. John Ferak/Patch Borchers testified he received no police reports indicating Will County Sheriff's CSIs used Luminol or Bluestar, inside the area of the Joliet Outlaws clubhouse where Kearns likely died. Those fluorescent chemical agents are used to detect hidden blood stains. "And that wasn't done here?" Bretz inquired. "No," Borchers replied. "So there were issues with the way the crime scene was processed?" Bretz followed up. "Yes," Borchers answered. During cross-examination, Assistant Will County State's Attorney Steven Platek had Borchers show jurors how the shooting occurred, again using the unloaded pistol. "Why did she have to be standing? Could she have been sitting in a chair?" Platek inquired. "I don't believe the angle lined up," Borchers answered. "It's possible she was sitting on the stage?" Platek followed up. "Yes," Borchers agreed. More Trial Coverage: Body At Joliet Outlaws? Police Will Never Get Call: Expert Defense attorney Chuck Bretz has been calling witnesses to show jurors that Katie Kearns fatally shot herself at the Joliet Outlaws clubhouse. John Ferak/Patch