Jury in Lockport murder trial shown police interview of defendant

In 2020, two Lockport police detectives grilled a Crestwood man about his reaction to the news of his daughter’s death and why he didn’t show up to a memorial for her.

On Thursday, a Will County jury viewed several hours of video showing the police interview of Anthony Maggio, 30, who is on trial on charges of the 2020 first-degree murder of Ashtin Eaton, 32, and their 14-month-old daughter, Hazel Bryant, in Lockport.

The video showed Lockport Police Detective Jacob King and Lockport Police Cmdr. John Arizzi interviewing Maggio after they discovered he was the father of Hazel.

Hazel and Eaton were found dead on the morning of Oct. 2, 2020. King testified that he informed Maggio of Hazel’s death over the phone about 8:30 p.m. that day. King said Maggio responded with a long, drawn out “What?” and he was quiet.

King said that response prompted him to ask Maggio if he had any questions and Maggio then asked what happened. King said he told Maggio he would discuss that with him at a later date.

King said he never told Maggio that Eaton had died and Maggio never asked about her.

The video of Maggio’s police interview marked the first time the jury heard his voice and demeanor.

Maggio sat calmly in the interrogation room and spoke in a low tone that bordered on murmuring. He continued to sit calmly and speak softly even when Arizzi loudly grilled him on why he didn’t contact Eaton after learning of Hazel’s death and suggested he already knew of Eaton’s death at the time.

“I’m just blown away that you didn’t do anything,” Arizzi told Maggio.

When Maggio was asked why he didn’t attempt to contact Eaton after learning of Hazel’s death, Maggio said, “I was mad because [Eaton] didn’t reach out.”

The detectives were baffled by that response. Arizzi told Maggio his answer was “very strange.”

The detectives told Maggio there were hundreds of text messages between Eaton and him in the weeks leading up to her death on Oct. 2, 2020, and he admitted to visiting with Eaton in Lockport about two weeks before she died.

During the interview, Arizzi asked Maggio whether it ever crossed his mind to contact Eaton after learning of Hazel’s death, especially after Maggio expressed concern that Eaton was acting strange.

But Maggio continued to say he didn’t contact Eaton because he was mad at her.

“I was pissed off,” Maggio said.

Later in the interview, Maggio said he “never dealt with a situation like this before.”

When detectives asked Maggio why he wasn’t at the memorial for Hazel, Maggio said “I didn’t think that I should.”

Maggio told them he wasn’t involved in Hazel’s life and there were people who “didn’t think too highly of me.”

The detectives told Maggio that no one they had spoken with had anything negative to say about him and that Hazel was nevertheless his child.

“Your story doesn’t add up. That’s what we’re concerned about right now,” Arizzi said to Maggio during the interview.