| Wednesday, October 24, 2007 4:08 PM CDT |
Accused murderer to change his plea to guilty
By Pantagraph staff
OTTAWA — Accused double murderer Keith Mackowiak has returned to his original request to be found guilty without legal representation, something LaSalle County Judge H. Chris Ryan said he will deal with after a psychiatric examination is done.
Mackowiak, 39, of Seneca is accused of killing Aloysius Twardowski, 84, and his wife, Catherine, 87, with a shovel on July 12 at their Seneca home during a burglary.
In his first court appearance, he said confessed and said he would represent himself. After Ryan gave him a week to change his mind, Mackowiak pleaded not guilty and accepted help from two public defenders. He has since told Ryan he again changed his mind and wanted to fire the public defenders and plead guilty.
State’s Attorney Brian Towne has said he will seek the death penalty and will get a state psychiatrist if a defense doctor finds Mackowiak unfit to stand trial. The defense report is expected Nov. 30.
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