Judge weighs new trial request in Joliet Outlaws murder case

A Will County judge plans to decide Jan. 10 if a man convicted of killing a woman at the Joliet Outlaws clubhouse and concealing her body from authorities in 2017 should receive a new trial or if the verdict should be overturned.

It’s been more than a year and a half since a jury found Jeremy Boshears, 38, guilty of shooting and killing Katie Kearns, 24, a woman with whom he was having an affair.

The jury also found Boshears guilty of attempting to conceal her homicidal death from police by storing her body inside of a vehicle that was left inside of a barn in Kankakee County.

In 2017, Boshears shot and killed Kearns in a fit of jealous rage inside the clubhouse for the Outlaws motorcycle club in Joliet Township, according to prosecutors.

Boshears has yet to be sentenced because both sides in the case are still dealing with a motion from Bretz asking Judge Dave Carlson to either give him a new trial or to set aside the jury’s verdict. Bretz based his motion on what he argued were numerous instances of ethical violations and misconduct on part of the prosecutors at trial.

Both parties made their final case to Carlson on Wednesday on the issue of whether he should grant Bretz’s motion.

During Wednesday’s court hearing, Bretz repeatedly chastised prosecutors and disputed their evidence in the case. He claimed there were witnesses who lied on the stand during trial and the evidence clearly pointed to Kearns dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Bretz said the misconduct and misstatements from prosecutors thorough the trial had prejudiced the jury against Boshears, which violated his due process rights.

“That’s the context in which [the jury] weighed credibility. And that’s not fair,” Bretz said.

One of the issues brought up by Bretz was prosecutors labeling the Outlaws as criminals and referencing John Gotti, the late Gambino crime family boss, in closing arguments. Bretz called the Gotti reference a maneuver to inflame the jury against Boshears.

Will County Assistant State’s Attorney Mark Shlifka said the Gotti reference was directed at Jimmy McCoy, the Joliet Outlaws leader at the time of Kearns’ death, and not at Boshears.

Shlifka argued Bretz introduced the idea of Outlaws being criminals when he asked the jury during opening statements if a “mafia guy’s paramour killed herself in the mafia hangout, would they call the police?”

Shlifka said Bretz “doubled down” by calling Outlaws expert Ed Jauch to testify at the trial. Jauch said that he was tasked by the FBI to infiltrate the Joliet Outlaws and if a member of their group talked to the police, they would be killed, Shlifka said.

Bretz said he was talking about the subculture of the Outlaws and he did not compare them to the mafia. He said the reference to Gotti was a “cheap shot” and that the prosecutors should apologize for demeaning themselves and the judge for their conduct.

“It’s repulsive!” Bretz yelled. “Their attempt to justify it today is repulsive.”