Jury Finds Johnny Borizov Guilty in Darien Family Murders

A jury has found a Willow Springs man guilty of conspiring to kill a Darien family.

Johnny Borizov was found guilty on all counts, including first-degree murder and solicitation of murder charges. The verdict was announced Tuesday evening at the DuPage County Courthouse in Wheaton.

Although Judge Daniel Guerin told the crowded courtroom to withhold emotion during the verdict reading, a gasp was heard along with feet stomping. Many Kramer family members and friends hugged each other and cried openly as they left the courtroom, WBBM Newsradio reports.

Borizov showed no emotion as the verdict was read and also when he was led out of the courtroom, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The jury took about two hours and 20 minutes to convict Borizov, a fact that surprised the defense. His attorneys said they were obviously disappointed with the verdict and will seek an appeal.

"There are evidentiary issues that are fairly complex to discuss," Defense Attorney Richard Kling said at a post-verdict press conference held at the courthouse.

Prosecutors said their witnesses and evidence prove that Borizov manipulated friend Jacob Nodarse into killing Jeffrey Kramer, his wife Lori and their son Michael in 2010. Borizov wanted the family to suffer after a child custody battle began with Kramer's daughter Angela, Assistant State's Attorney Bernie Murray said.

Murray emphasized that the jury needed to consider who was behind the actual crime, even if the physical harm was done by somebody else.

"(Borizov) is legally responsible … even though he wasn't there, even though he was at a casino while Jacob Nodarse carried out his plan," Murray told the jury earlier Tuesday in closing arguments.

The defense maintained that Nodarse acted on his own when he shot and killed Jeffrey, Lori and Michael Kramer on March 2, 2010. They had the jury hear testimony that Nodarse was under the influence of several drugs and was in a psychotic state at the time of the shootings.

They attempted to discredit Nodarse's taped police interviews with other witnesses and had pointed questions for Nodarse himself. Nodarse, formerly of Countryside, in 2011 entered a plea of guilty but mentally ill to one count of first-degree murder for his role in the killings. He has yet to be sentenced.

Like the defense, the Kramer family was also shocked that the jury came back with a verdict within a few hours. Many members and friends of the family came to the press conference room, including Angela Kramer, but only two addressed the media directly.

Bill Svatos, Lori Kramer's father, said it also felt good that the verdict was reached so quickly.

"I'm not ashamed to say it, I broke down crying," Svatos said of the verdict reading.

The other Kramer family member to address the media was Judy Pokorny, Jeff Kramer's mother, who said Lori was like a daughter to her. Pokorny had no doubt that Borizov would be found guilty.

"I thank God for the verdict that we got today, but I knew we were going to get that verdict," Pokorny said at the press conference.

Borizov faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole, DuPage County State's Attorney Bob Berlin said at the conference.

"Just over three years have passed since the grisly murders of Jeffrey, Lori and Michael Kramer," Berlin said later in a press release. “With today’s verdict, the second of the two men involved has been held responsible and will pay a significant price. This has been an extremely difficult case and I would like to thank Assistant State’s Attorneys Joe Ruggiero, Bernie Murray and Amanda Meindl for their outstanding efforts on behalf of the Kramer family.”

Borizov's trial came to a close nearly one month after it originally began on April 16, and more than three years after the shootings. This was the first murder trial in the Chicago area to be photographed and filmed, although some witnesses and evidence were exempt from going on camera.

Any post-trial motions and preparation for sentencing are scheduled for June 27 at 9 a.m.

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