Man appeals 2005 Ogle County murder conviction

OREGON – A former Oregon man found guilty of a 2003 murder is seeking to have his conviction overturned.

David A. Klein, 34, has been unsuccessful so far in the appeal process, but will have a status hearing on the matter Jan. 30 before Ogle County Judge Robert Hanson.

Ogle County Assistant State's Attorney Bob Schuman said Tuesday that the appeal contends that Klein's constitutional rights were violated. He said the appeals process has several steps.

In the first step, a review by a judge, the petition was denied by now-retired Judge Stephen Pemberton on June 19, 2012. But Klein filed a motion to reconsider the petition, which former State's Attorney Mike Rock sought to have dismissed.

An earlier appeal of Klein's conviction was denied by the appellate court.

An Ogle County jury found Klein guilty of first-degree murder Feb. 18, 2005, for the July 29, 2003, killing of Joseph Mirro, 25, South Elgin.

He was sentenced April 14, 2005, to 30 years in state prison. He is being held in the Hill Correctional Center in Galesburg.

Co-defendant Mickeal Pinion, now 40, was found guilty of first-degree murder in September 2004. He was sentenced to 50 years, which he is serving at Menard Correctional Center.

The two were found guilty of killing Mirro at a cabin where they were living at 6276 S. Lost Nation Road, southeast of Oregon, and then burying the body on a nearby island in the Rock River.

Mirro had been shot with a rifle, struck with a baseball bat, and drowned before being buried in a shallow gave.

Mirro’s Dodge Neon was found early July 30, 2003, sitting on top of a 5-foot gravel pile in a parking lot at Lowden Miller State Forest, about 4.5 miles from where his body was found.

Then-Sheriff Mel Messer said at the time that the investigation revealed the murder was drug-related.