Person Convicted of Killing at Harrah's Joliet Hotel Receives Sentence of 100 Years' Imprisonment
A mentally unstable homeless person named Robert A. Watson, aged 29 and a resident of Joliet, was given a sentence of a hundred years behind bars this week. This decision came as a result of him murdering a 76-year-old man named Emmanuel Burgarino in the Harrah's Joliet hotel in Illinois in 2019.
On the 24th of March in 2019, Watson brutally stabbed Burgarino approximately 26 times in his chest and neck. He also attacked the elderly victim with pepper spray. After the attack, Burgarino was transported to Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet and was pronounced dead.
Following a trial lasting eight days in May, Watson was convicted of first-degree murder. The jury also determined that Watson had been struggling with mental illness at the time of the incident. His attorneys from the Will County Public Defender’s Office tried to argue that he wasn't guilty due to insanity and that he suffers from schizophrenia. One such attorney, Shenonda Tisdale, stated that Watson was delusional during the incident and possibly believed Burgarino was a "spirit".
Watson must serve the entirety of his sentence, but he will be credited for the 1,590 days he has already spent in jail.
James Glasgow, the Will County State's Attorney, described Watson as "evil incarnate" and stated that he will "be punished for all eternity for this heinous murder." He added that Watson had stabbed Burgarino in a vicious, inhumane way and allowed Burgarino to suffer and die in the hotel hallway. Further, Glasgow said that Watson's intent to hide the evidence and premeditation indicated that he fully understood his actions and the consequences that would follow.
During the trial, Glenn Hill, a witness for the prosecution, testified that Watson had followed him into an elevator at the hotel, making him feel uneasy. Hill stated that he waited for Watson to leave the elevator before riding back down to his floor. He didn't see Watson again until he encountered him attacking Burgarino in the hallway. Watson then fled into a stairwell and escaped through a first-floor door.
Police discovered Watson's blood-stained clothes, a bloody knife, and blood-stained latex gloves in a bush in Joliet the day after the incident. Watson's backpack was found at a condemned building where he had been residing. Watson was eventually arrested at the Joliet Public Library's Ottawa Street Branch.
Burgarino's blood was discovered on Watson's shoe and clothing, as well as on the knife and gloves.
It appears that robbery may have been the motivation behind the murder, and Burgarino might have been chosen randomly.
Burgarino's partner, Denise Dixon, filed a civil lawsuit against Caesars Entertainment, the company responsible for operating Harrah's, claiming they were negligent in their duty to protect Burgarino. The matter has been referred to mediation, and the result is still unknown, as per court records.
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Source: www.casino.org
