According to opening statements in a Rolling Meadows murder trial Tuesday, Jeffrey Carrao is either a calculating murderer or a man who was forced to kill to save his girlfriend’s life.
Carrao, 26, is charged with first-degree murder in the May 31 shooting death of Michael Lange, 34, of Hoffman Estates.
On that day, Lange was in the living room of the Rolling Meadows apartment Carrao shared with his girlfriend, Tracy Matsinger, who was Lange’s estranged wife, authorities said.
Lange was having a violent dispute with Matsinger just before Carrao walked in on them and shot Lange twice, attorneys on both sides agreed.
They agreed on little else.
Cook County Assistant State’s Atty. Liz Hantzos said Lange had stepped away from Matsinger when he saw Carrao step into the living room with a gun. Hantzos said Carrao shot Lange in the chest, then stood over him and fired a shot into his head.
Lange was face down and motionless when Carrao fired the second shot, Hantzos said.
“What happened in Apartment 115 was first-degree murder,” Hantzos said. “Nothing more, nothing less.”
Carrao’s attorney, Dwight Adams, said the shooting was in self-defense because Carrao was defending his life as well as Matsinger’s.
Adams said during his opening statement that Lange was violent and “hopped up on drugs” at the time of the killing.
Lange had traces of marijuana in his system, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s report.
Adams said that when Carrao walked into the living room, he saw Lange holding Matsinger off the ground by her throat, choking her so hard that she thought she was losing consciousness.
The jury trial continues Wednesday.
