The murder trial of a Lindenhurst janitor accused of fatally bludgeoning a co-worker began Monday with prosecutors painting a picture of a reclusive loner who became a cold-blooded killer when he believed his authority was threatened.
Kevin Lee Killian, 30, is charged with first-degree murder in the Sept. 9 killing of John E. Zeller, 51, his supervisor at Prince of Peace Catholic Church and School, 135 S. Milwaukee Ave., Lake Villa.
Killian is accused of striking Zeller in the head up to 15 times with a sledgehammer days after being told by his employer that he had to report to Zeller, authorities said.
Several teachers arriving for class about 6:30 a.m. the day of the murder said they saw Killian dragging the body of Zeller through the school’s front door. Authorities said Killian told the stunned teachers that Zeller had been attacked by a dog.
During opening statements at the Lake County Courthouse in Waukegan Monday, Assistant State’s Atty. Mike Mermel told the jury that Killian told police he had “planned the murder for some time” and the night before the killing he had been unable to sleep.
“He told police that he could only sleep for an hour,” Mermel said. “He was plotting and planning a murder.”
Mermel said Killian told police he had conceived an assortment of ways to kill Zeller, including pushing him down a staircase or under a bus.
Mermel detailed the number of times the victim was struck and the way in which Killian pursued Zeller out the front door of the church. There Killian struck Zeller four or five more times, and the last blow allegedly killed him, Mermel said.
“[Zeller] was flopping and scooting about and pleading with the defendant,” Mermel said. “He could no longer stand and he was trying to hold the defendant off with his feet.”
Killian’s resignation from his full-time head janitorial job in April 1999 led to Zeller being hired a few months later, Rev. Richard Yanos, pastor of Prince of Peace, testified Monday. Shortly after Zeller was hired, Killian asked for his job back, he said.
Ironically, Zeller recommended that Killian be rehired part-time, Yanos said.
“I told John that it was up to him,” Yanos said. “John thought it was a good idea because Kevin could show [him the ropes].”
Yanos testified that shortly after Killian’s return he became insolent, not only to Zeller but also to Yanos.
“When I asked Kevin to do something, his response was not what it should be to an employer,” Yanos said, adding that Killian, who was good with electronics, preferred tinkering with computers to tasks such as cleaning toilets and classrooms.
Zeller was killed just two days after a meeting among Yanos, Killian and Zeller in which Killian was told to take his orders from Zeller, Yanos testified.
In his opening statement, Killian’s attorney, Steve Schwarzbach told jurors that the evidence in the case would show that Zeller provoked Killian the morning of the murder.
“You will see evidence that with serious provocation, anything can happen,” he said. “[Zeller] confronted my client, saying, “What do you think you are doing here?”
Killian, a slight man dressed in blue jeans, a T-shirt and gym shoes, sat at the defense table with his hands folded and showed no reaction to a videotape of the murder scene that prosecutors played for jurors.
On Tuesday, prosecutors plan to show jurors a videotape of Killian’s alleged confession.
