LINCOLN -- A former McLean County prosecutor has agreed to serve as co-counsel for the defense in the case against Jason L. Harris, who is accused along with his brother of killing a Beason family.
Stephanie Wong will join Bloomington attorney Steve Skelton, Skelton told The Pantagraph Tuesday.
Harris, 22, and his brother, Christopher J. Harris, 30, both of Armington, were indicted last week on charges that they brutally beat Rick and Ruth Gee and three of the couple's children with a tire iron during an armed robbery in which a laptop computer was taken. The family was found Sept. 21 by relatives.
Both men also are charged with the attempted criminal sexual assault of 16-year-old victim Justina Constant, and attempted murder of Tabitha Gee, age 3, who survived the attack.
The brothers have pleaded not guilty and are being held without bond.
Obstruction of justice charges are pending against Jason Harris' girlfriend, Jennifer Earnest, Armington, and her mother, Sara Duncan, Sarasota, Fla., for allegedly providing a false alibi for Chris Harris.
Wong was an assistant state's attorney for 13 years before leaving the McLean County office in 2006. She currently has a legal practice with Jason Chambers in Bloomington. In addition to the Beason case, Wong is representing Liam McCauley, who is accused of killing his father in August in the family's Bloomington home.
The appointment of Wong brings five veteran defense attorneys to the Gee case. Christopher Harris is represented by Tim Timoney, James Elmore and Matthew Maurer, all of Springfield.
Defendants in death penalty cases are entitled to two attorneys who are certified to handle capital cases. Timoney said he is qualified but has not become certified because it is financially beneficial to the county to use his services as a public defender, a move that shifts the burden of legal fees to the state Capital Litigation Trust Fund.
The Harris brothers are due back in court for a Dec. 3 hearing.