Teenage daughter testifies about finding mother’s body in Lockport murder trial

A 15-year-old girl testified in a murder trial Tuesday that she was the first one to discover the death of her mother four years ago in Lockport.

The daughter of Ashtin Eaton, 32, said she was 11 when she found her mother on the morning of Oct. 2, 2020, inside their apartment in the 900 block of South Hamilton Street.

Eaton’s daughter was in tears as she told a Will County jury about what occurred that morning.

Eaton’s daughter said on Oct. 1, 2020, she was sitting her bedroom and listening to music on her iPad when she went to sleep about 11 p.m. She said she was a “sound sleeper” and heard no noise when she was sleeping.

The girl told the court she woke up about 8:45 a.m. the next day and left her room to search for her mother in her bedroom, but only saw her infant sister, Hazel Bryant, lying on the bed surrounded by blankets.

“I thought she was cooking breakfast,” Eaton’s daughter said of her mother.

The daughter testified she headed for the kitchen and saw her mother lying on the floor with blood around her arms. She said her mother’s face looked blue and purple.

“I touched her chest,” Eaton’s daughter said.

However, Ashtin Eaton didn’t move or react. Her daughter said she noticed a box-cutter next to her mother’s body that she never saw before. Eaton’s daughter testified she then grabbed her iPad and made a FaceTime call to her grandparents, who told her to call 911.

Eaton’s grandparents, Shirley and Russ Onderisin, testified that Eaton’s daughter told them, “Mommy’s not breathing.”

When the grandparents arrived at the apartment and saw Eaton’s body, Shirley Onderisin said she went to Eaton’s bedroom and picked up Bryant from the bed but the child didn’t move.

Shirley Onderisin recalled saying, “Wake up, baby. Wake up.” The grandparents would discover that Hazel Bryant was dead as well.

While a cut on Eaton’s wrist made it seem as if she died by suicide, prosecutors contend the scene was staged to look like one. Will County Assistant State’s Attorney James Zanayed told jurors that Eaton was actually strangled to death.

“Nothing at the scene suggests she could have done that herself,” Zanayed said.

Prosecutors alleged Eaton and Bryant were killed by Anthony Maggio, 30, of Crestwood, who is on trial this week on charges alleging he strangled Eaton to death. He’s also charged with smothering Bryant, his daughter.

Eaton’s 15-year-old daughter is not Maggio’s child. Eaton’s daughter and Shirley Onderisin said they didn’t see Maggio at the hospital when Byrant was born.

Maggio was a former probationary firefighter-paramedic for the Town of Cicero until he was fired in 2021 for “unsatisfactory character” and “intentionally” omitting “required information,” according to records obtained in a Freedom of Information Act request.

Prosecutors alleged Maggio was motivated to kill Eaton and his daughter because he didn’t want to make child support payments for Bryant, who was his third child. They said Maggio had two other children with another woman.

Zanayed told a jury Tuesday that Maggio was afraid of losing his job as a firefighter-paramedic and complained of being in a lot of debt. Zanayed also said Maggio’s DNA was found at the crime scene.

Maggio’s attorney Michael Clancy said Maggio’s DNA was the only evidence that he was in Lockport and he was with Eaton about 10 days before her death.

“DNA doesn’t have a timestamp,” Clancy said.

Clancy said there was DNA found under Eaton’s fingernails, on her shirt and on the box-cutter that was not identified. Clancy argued that Maggio also had the financial support of his father and his fiancé regarding the care of Bryant.