Acquitted murder suspect Kenneth Cusick sues cops, prosecutors, witnesses in federal court

Kenneth Cusick, the Ottawa man acquitted last year of murdering his wife, is now suing his pursuers, alleging that evidence was “fabricated” and that he was “framed.”

Cusick filed a federal lawsuit Thursday with the U.S. District for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago. The lawsuit names multiple defendants plus the city of Ottawa and La Salle County. The lawsuit alleges 12 violations of state or federal law including malicious prosecution, failure to intervene, defamation, willful and wanton conduct, civil conspiracy as well as violations of Cusick’s rights.

However, Cusick’s lawyers identified eight people as individual defendants. They are past and present Ottawa police officers (David Gualandri, Scott Cruz and Brian Zeilmann), La Salle County State’s Attorney Karen Donnelly, former Coroner Jody Bernard, medical examiner Scott Denton and two state experts, Rod Englert and Julius Ballanco, retained by the state.

After-hours messages to Donnelly, Gualandri and Bernard were not immediately returned.

“Were it not for the twelve men and women who followed their oath and were willing to listen to the truth, Kenneth Cusick might be in prison today serving a life-ending sentence for a crime he did not commit,” wrote Jon Loevy, one of the Chicago attorneys representing Cusick. “That this jury eventually pulled Kenneth Cusick out of a nightmare experience with the criminal justice system was not a foregone conclusion.

“Indeed, a group of Ottawa and La Salle County officials who collectively decided to frame Kenneth Cusick for causing his wife’s death despite what the facts showed did their very best to secure his conviction. They failed, but not before ruining Ken Cusick’s life, disparaging him in the community, destroying his reputation and causing him years of pain and suffering as he endured a spurious investigation and trial that forced him (to) repeatedly relive the worst day of his life.”

Cusick was tried last year and acquitted of murder after a two-week trial. Prosecutors allege that he drowned Tracy Cusick in a home toilet; but Cusick’s lawyers argued Tracy did not drown but died of alcohol and drug intoxication in January of 2006.

“My wife Tracy was a great mom and wife,” said Cusick in a statement issued by his attorneys. “She was not perfect, but she deserves to be remembered as the loving person she was and not as part of this case.”