The New Year didn't start out all that great for everyone.
The New Year turned five days old today. And out of those five days, the Will County Courthouse was only open for three of them. That may not be a lot of days, but they were still action-packed and exciting. How action packed and exciting? Well, let's take a look: Are you a fan of true crime? Then come like our Facebook page.
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The family of Joseph Messina was distraught after a Will County judge found him guilty of punching a Joliet man into a coma more than three years ago.
Three and a half years after he was punched into a coma outside a Mokena bar, Eric Bartels sat propped in a wheelchair in a crowded Joliet courtroom. After the judge found the New Lenox man charged with striking him guilty, Bartels blinked his eyes once. "There are times when he knows what's going on," Bartels' mother, Janet Bartels of Tinley Park, said after Judge Sarah Jones delivered her verdict against Joseph Messina, 24, Thursday morning. Janet Bartels wasn't sure if that was one of those moments, but said she saw Messina going down from the start. "I knew this would be the outcome all along," she said. All along began back in July 2009 at the Mokena bar 191 South. Messina and five friends went to 191 South to celebrate his 21st …
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9:05 pm on Wednesday, January 9, 2013
I know everyone who is siding with Eric obviously knew him and was a good friend and it is beyond terrible what happened. But I knew Joe Messina in High School and he truly is one of the nicest and most loved guys around. It could have happened to anyone while out drinking. Not many people will ever really know the full truth, and you guys act like he doesn't feel bad, but I'm sure he would do … more ›
New Lenox resident Joseph Messina faces as much as five years in prison for punching a Joliet man into a coma in July 2009.
Judge Sarah Jones found New Lenox resident Joseph Messina guilty of punching a Joliet man into a coma outside a Mokena bar in July 2009. Messina, 24, faces up to five years in prison for the attack on 29-year-old Eric Bartels. Check back for more details of the verdict and the reactions of the families.
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A surprise witness in the Mokena coma punch case turning the trial upside down was just one of the things going on in court this week.
The week finished up with a bang when a surprise witness dropped explosive testimony on the Mokena coma punch case. With Joseph Messina of New Lenox facing felony aggravated battery charges for allegedly beating Eric Bartels of Joliet into a coma in July 2009, witness Steve Raymond of Frankfort came out of nowhere and testified that he saw another man throw the fateful punch. Raymond explained that he kept quiet for years because he expected close friend Mike Glielmi to come clean about punching Bartels. That didn't happen, and Raymond, who is also close friends with Messina, told how he empathized with Bartels' family after his own sister suffered severe brain injuries in a July 2011 motorcycle accident. It was only a year or so after the…
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9:07 pm on Thursday, December 13, 2012
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Joseph Messina, of New Lenox, is accused of hitting a man in 2009, putting him in a coma and leaving him with massive head trauma.
The trial of a New Lenox man charged with punching another man into a coma started more than five months ago, and on Wednesday it was back on with testimony from three state police scientists. The scientists were questioned about blood evidence in the case against 24-year-old Joseph Messina, who allegedly beat a man into a coma outside the Mokena bar 191 South back in July 2009. READ: Coma-Puncher Raised Arms in 'Victory' Messina's trial began in June but the high-profile murder prosecutions of wife-killer Drew Peterson and Christopher Vaughn—the Oswego man who executed his wife and three children—forced the postponement of his case. Now, with both Peterson and Vaughn being found guilty, the Messina case is back on. Messina, who is free on…
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9:42 pm on Thursday, December 6, 2012
Your buddy sounds like the pussy , by pounding a poor guy whos laying on the ground. Then bragging about it. What a big man he is. lol more ›
The trial of a New Lenox man charged with punching a Joliet man into a coma outside a Mokena bar will resume next month.
The bench trial of a New Lenox man charged with punching a Joliet man into a coma outside a Mokena bar took a back seat to two of the most notorious and highly publicized murder cases in Will County's history. But the trials of wife-murderer Drew Peterson and quadruple-killer Christopher Vaughn are over now, and the case of Joseph Messina is back on. Messina, 24, allegedly knocked 29-year-old Eric Bartels of Joliet to the ground with a single punch outside the Mokena bar 191 South in July 2009. Bartels has been in a coma since. After Bartels fell, a witness testified previously, Messina straddled him, punched his face again, then "raised his arms above his head in victory." The police arrived quickly and found Messina hiding between the …
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7:02 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
This guy is the biggest coward in the world. He won't get away with being a cheap shot artist in Stateville. He's going to get what he deserves in prision. more ›
Raise it for Rachel is a benefit to help the family of Rachel Swallow with the 11-year-old's medical costs. Rachel, a sixth-grader at Hilda Walker School, was diagnosed with a serious brain disease after falling into a coma-like state in March.
The Frankfort Area Jaycees are sponsoring a family fun day this weekend to help raise money for an 11-year-old Hilda Walker Intermediate School sixth-grader who has been in a coma-like state since March. Raising it for Rachel will be from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 7, at the pavilion at Union Creek Community Park, which is behind Hilda Walker School. Food, games, raffles, music and other activities will be part of the fundraiser for Rachel Swallow, a Mokena girl who was diagnosed with a brain disease known as acute disseminated encephalomyelitis and has been comatose since March 26. Rachel has undergone numerous medical procedures and surgeries to treat the inflammatory lesions on her brain, and she will need more medical care and in-house …
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4:06 pm on Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Please come out to our Bourbon Street benefit on November 11th from 2 to 7. Donations can be be made to the For the Love of Rachel Fund at any 5/3 Bank, or through the website www.4theloveofrachel.com. Thanks! more ›
A Mokena police detective now says he can't recall whether he photographed the hands of a New Lenox man charged with punching a Joliet man into a coma.
The trial of a New Lenox man charged with punching a Joliet man into a coma during a bar fight ground to a halt when a Mokena Detective said he had shot a photo of the defendant's hand that no one can seem to find. Will County Judge Sarah Jones gave the Mokena police 11 days to come up with the missing picture. The police couldn't find it, and attorneys for the New Lenox man, 23-year-old Joseph Messina, moved for a mistrial. Then on Thursday, the same detective said he now can't remember whether he shot the photo after all. "No, I do not recall," Detective Greg Selin said during a hearing in Will County court. Defense attorney Ken Zelazo asked Selin if he talked about the Messina matter with prosecutors. Selin told him he did, but just …
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6:33 am on Thursday, July 26, 2012
This is such garbage. Where are the surveillance cameras outside the parking lot? Cameras are everywhere in this world... Except Lane Bryant and 191 South? more ›
Defense attorneys are bidding to have a mistrial declared in the case of a tragic bar fight because the police can't find a photo of the defendant's fist.
The police had 11 days to come up with a photo of the fist they say put a Joliet man in a coma. They failed to find it, and now the attorneys representing the New Lenox man charged with throwing the tragic coma punch are going for a mistrial. The purported picture shows the hand of Joseph Messina, the man standing trial for allegedly pummeling 29-year-old Eric Bartels of Joliet in July 2009 so severely that Bartels is still in a coma. Messina, 23, allegedly knocked Bartels to the ground with one punch outside the Mokena bar 191 South. After Bartels fell, a witness testified, Messina straddled him, punched his face again, then "raised his arms above his head in victory." Mokena police Detective Gregory Selin testified on June 28 that he …
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3:41 pm on Thursday, September 27, 2012
I don't think they should have to produce evidence in this case at all. They should pass a law that people can be found guilty no matter what. Than these poor cops won't have to worry so much about silly things like procedure, due process and finding evidence. Maybe I should be locked up for all the bad things I might have done or could possible do. more ›
A Will County judge postponed the trial of Joseph Messina, accused of severely beating a Joliet man, to give Mokena police time to track down evidence.
A photograph the police say they have—but apparently can't find—has prompted a Will County judge to suspend the trial of a New Lenox man charged with punching another man into a coma. The purported picture shows the hand of Joseph Messina, the man standing trial for allegedly pummeling 29-year-old Eric Bartels of Joliet in July 2009 so severely that Bartels is still in a coma. Judge Sarah Jones has put the trial on hold until July 9. The police have until then to locate the photo. Both prosecutors and defense attorneys were unaware the photograph had been taken. They learned of it while a Mokena police officer was testifying Thursday. Messina, 23, allegedly knocked Bartels to the ground with one punch outside the Mokena bar 191 South. …
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9:55 am on Saturday, November 24, 2012
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Ann C. Piasecki
10:33 pm on Sunday, January 6, 2013
Thank you both for your interest and comments on this story. However, they are inappropriate for the broader audience. No more comments will be accepted. more ›