Sanity exam ordered for dad accused in triple murder (DuPage County, Illinois)

Something has got to be done about sloppy language in journalism.

We've reported on this case before, where dad JOHNNY BORIZOV is accused of hiring a contract killer to wipe out his his ex-girlfriend's family. The killer succeeded in killing her mother, father, and brother. It is believed that his ex-girlfriend, the mother of their child, was the real target though.

Here's the sloppy part. BOTH PARENTS were having "a tough custody and child support battle"? Hmm. Don't think so. I'm thinking that a guy who was apparently capable of putting out a hit on this family was just possibly the aggressor in that "battle" too, don't you think? But if so, this wasn't a "battle" at all, as "battle" suggests two more-or-less equally engaged combatants.

Unfortunately, the press tends to confuse "neutrality" with "every party is guilty in some way." But sometimes, there is just no evidence for that. So in fact, you are creating a bias that is not supported by the evidence you present. Sometimes there IS a clear aggressor, a party who initiates violence against others without being provoked in a like way (e.g. having HIS life threatened). What is accomplished by obscuring that fact?

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/04/nodarse-sanity-exam-darien-kramer-murders.html

Sanity exam ordered for Darien murder defendant
April 22, 2010 6:01 PM

A DuPage County judge today ordered a complete mental health exam for a Countryside man accused of fatally shooting three members of a family in their Darien home in March.

Judge John Kinsella ordered that Jacob Nodarse be examined for both his sanity and his fitness for trial.

Assistant State's Attorney Joseph Ruggerio and defense attorney Randy Rueckert both said there is a "bona fide doubt" as to Nodarse's fitness for trial and agreed that the mental health exam should be expanded to include the issue of his sanity. Neither would elaborate on their reasons for asking for the exam.

Nodarse, 23, is charged with murdering members of the Kramer family at the direction of Johnny Borizov, the ex-boyfriend of Angela Kramer and the mother of his child.

Angela, believed to have been the real target of the attack, hid in the Darien home during the fatal shooting spree and was unharmed. But her father, mother and brother were slain.

Borizov and Angela were having a tough custody and child support battle.

Borizov, 28, of Willow Springs, has also been charged with the murders, and Marc Wolfe, his attorney, has filed a demand for a speedy trial, which would require the case to be tried this summer.

Nodarse, who prosecutors have admitted has made "admissions" about Borizov and his own involvement, would be the main witness at his co-defendant's trial.

Wolfe has questioned Nodarse's statements and mental health and could attempt to exploit that at Borizov's trial.

Prosecutors claim that Borizov coerced Nodarse into committing the crime over the previous several months. However, there has never been any mention of anything that Nodarse specifically received or was to have received in exchange for committing the crime.

Rueckert declined to say if he may pursue an insanity plea.

"At his initial bond hearing I stated that I just have to shake my head and it's the same today," Rueckert said Thursday after the exam was ordered.

Borizov was held in custody at the Darien police station for several days after the murders, but no comments have been made about what he has told police.

Both men have pleaded not guilty and are being held without bond at the county jail, separated from each other.

After Nodarse broke into the home with a hammer early March 2, the first of his 10 shots downed Angela Kramer's younger brother, Michael, 20, as he was trying to get a knife. Then Nodarse shot her father, Jeffrey, 50, and her mother Lori, 48.

Shortly after the murder, Nodarse is alleged to have called Borizov on a prepaid cell phone. "This is Jake,'' Nodarse said, according to testimony at his bond hearing. "I am still driving and I think I am being followed."

If Nodarse were to be found unfit for trial, he would be ordered into treatment until he was restored to fitness or declared later that he was not capable of being restored. There has been no previous indication of Nodarse ever having previous mental health treatment.

Nodarse appeared quiet and unaffected at today's court hearing, as he has at his previous court appearances.

--Art Barnum