SALINE CO.— A trial that began two years to the day of the death of Linda Young ended this afternoon after a jury took only nine minutes to find 63-year-old Roger Young guilty of Solicitation of Murder for Hire.
Despite, through the efforts of law enforcement, the plot never being carried out, Mrs. Young succumbed to the stress it caused and that stress lead her to take her own life.
Her husband of 40 years, who claimed he was too wasted on pills and beer to remember anything about trying to hire the hit man to kill her and who then claimed it was his drinking buddy’s idea, never shed a tear or acted remotely upset about his wife being deceased during the entire course of the trial.
The case was so solidly built and prosecuted that the defense didn’t stand much of a chance.
Too much pills and booze to remember
During closing arguments assistant state’s attorney Jason Olsen shot holes in Young’s testimony that he didn’t remember any aspects of the crime.
“You heard Roger Young testify that he had started drinking at about midnight, several hours before he met with the confidential source, James Koker, and the hit man he didn’t know was Lt. Beleveau of the Illinois State Police at the Eldorado American Legion at approximately 9:45 a.m.,” Olsen told jurors. “But he sure remembered when he got in the van to ask the hit man he was going to hire to kill his wife if he was wearing a wire.
“He gave directions to the hospital where he pointed out his wife’s vehicle and gave the license plate RYLY72.
“You saw him on the video tell the hit man that doing it at the hospital was a bad idea because they have cameras.
“You saw him give directions to his house and on the way, when the hit man suggested putting her body in the cemetery, you saw and heard him say that was also a bad idea because there were houses near the cemetery.
“You saw him point out the big ditch saying that would be a good place because the hit man could put her vehicle in there and burn it for insurance money.
“You saw him give a tour of his place pointing out collateral he had that would assure payment until the insurance paid off
“And finally you watched as Roger Young pulled out a $100 bill, THIS $100 bill (holding it up for the jury to see) to secure the hit.
“And you saw on the video Roger Young even saying as he got out of the van that there would be no further contact between him and the hit man and he didn’t need to be told when the deed was done because he would know.”
That presumably meant that he would be informed by police of his wife’s death and he would act out the part of the grieving husband.
Like a cow to slaughter
Defense attorney Morgan Scroggins indeed offered up the “It was the other guy defense.”
Scroggins told the jury that “solicitation” as in for murder for hire was defined as one person telling another they wanted something from them.
“Inspector Blazier put in quotes in his report that Koker told him Roger Young said, ‘The only way I am going to get money out of that bitch is when she’s dead.’,” Scroggins said. “That isn’t solicitation.
“’What’s it worth to ya?’ That’s what James Koker asked Roger. It was Koker asking Roger what it was worth to him to have his wife killed.”
Scroggins went on to say that the murder was Koker’s idea because he was the one wanting money.
What Scroggins never explained away was why then did Koker go to the police.
“It was Koker who suggested the killing. It was Koker who went into the bar to get Roger soliciting information for the wire he was wearing March 29, 2012. It was Koker who said come let me lead you outside so the sound was better. It is Koker who set up the meeting with the hit man and it was Koker who went into the bar March 31 and told Roger come on, come with me to the van to meet the hit man.”
A now convicted Roger Young is shown here being escorted to a waiting elevator for a ride to the ground floor and the long walk over to the county detention center. Given his age and sentencing possibility, Young could spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Scroggins analogized the situation with raising cattle in the United States for food.
“Roger Young was like a cow and James Koker was leading him to slaughter,” Scroggins said. “’What’s it worth to ya? Roger Young who takes pain pills and drinks was the perfect piece of beef for Koker to lead to the slaughterhouse.”
Olsen’s final stinging closing
Olsen began by reminding jurors that according to the video it was Young who came up with the amount for the hit on his wife.
“Five G. That’s what Roger Young said when the hit man asked him how much the job paid,” Olsen reminded. “This is a man who said he is disabled and has nothing to do with his time but take pills and drink beer.
“He seemed to have plenty of time to trade pills for blow-jobs all while he was married as he told Mr. Koker.
“Roger Young is the man who approached Mr. Koker and kept pushing to the point Koker realized he was serious and that’s when Mr. Koker went to the authorities.”
Olsen said he did agree with Scroggins on one aspect.
“This is indeed like leading a cow to slaughter,” Olsen said. “How Roger Young viewed his wife of 40 years? He viewed her as nothing more than a cow as he lead her to slaughter. That’s what he was doing on March 29, 2012 when the wire recorded him telling James Koker, ‘I have been telling you for a fucking year I want this shit done.’ And that’s what he was doing when on March 31, 2012 he met with the hit man and took him on a tour of where his wife worked, pointed out her vehicle and rattled off her license plate, that’s what he was doing when he pointed out bad area’s to kill his wife and the perfect place to do it and that’s what he was doing back at the American Legion in Eldorado when he handed the hit man $100…. Leading her to be slaughtered the entire time.”
Nine minutes to deliberate
After jurors were given their final instructions by judge Walden Morris it took them only nine minutes to announce that a verdict had been reached.
Young’s daughter Casey Carlile was finally allowed to come into the courtroom to hear the verdict.
She had not been allowed in during the entire trial because Scroggins had put her on his witness list and then never called her to the stand.
Also in attendance was added deputies.
As the room fell silent the verdict was read: “We the jury find Roger Young Guilty of the offense of Solicitation for Murder for Hire.”
Scoggins had the jurors polled and to a one they answered in the affirmative to the question, “Was that then and is this now your verdict.”
Young was placed in handcuffs and lead out of the courtroom, into the lobby of the courthouse, into the elevator and over to the Saline County Detention Center where he will await sentencing scheduled for June 12 at 10 a.m.
The family
In the lobby Young’s daughter could be found hugging other family members and the police officers who brought her father to justice.
Linda Young’s elderly mother, with cane in hand could be seen weeping.
Carlile said her father’s conviction was a great relief to her.
“This has been most difficult for both sides of the family,” Carlile said. “We would like to thank all the officers involved and the prosecutor’s office for doing such a great job. We are glad its over.”