Oct. 01--Nearly a decade after Nick and Gloria Romano were found shot to death in their home, Nick's son Michael Romano has been found guilty of their murders.
Michael Romano, 56, faces 120 years in prison when he's sentenced Nov. 19 -- nine years to the day after his father and stepmother were believed to have been killed. He showed no reaction to the verdict, though a slight gasp could be heard in the courtroom when the conviction was announced Thursday morning.
Nicholas Romano Jr., who had testified against and secretly taped conversations with his brother, was visibly emotional as he left the McHenry County courtroom. He did not speak to reporters except to say of his brother: "He was the one."
Testimony by investigators at the trial indicated that Romano had been under suspicion since he reported to authorities that he found his father and stepmother both shot dead in the back of the head after going to their home near Crystal Lake to check on them in November 2006. But authorities did not file charges against Michael Romano until early last year; by then he had moved to Las Vegas.
Juror Stephen O'Connor, of Huntley, said the jury was "really looking for him to be innocent, but there was nothing there, no evidence of forced entry or anyone else being inside the house."
O'Connor said jurors wanted to find the "smoking gun" but that ultimately it was Romano's own words and apparent lies to authorities that led to his conviction.
"He basically incriminated himself in the videos" of two police interrogations played in court, O'Connor said.
Romano has been held in McHenry County Jail since his arrest on first-degree murder charges.
"I'm disappointed with the jury's verdict," said Assistant Public Defender Angelo Mourelatos. "Michael maintains his innocence and we plan on appealing the verdict."
Prosecutors asserted in closing arguments that "there is nobody else with motive, means or opportunity" to kill the Romanos.
They described Michael Romano as a man who was deep in debt and was after his inheritance, not knowing his father had written him out of his will after a falling out they'd had in 1999.
Assistant State's Attorney John Gibbons said Romano's motive was "money with a small side of resentment."
"We put it all together, O'Connor said. "He had no future, he was at the end of his rope, no prospects, no job."
Romano has maintained that the last time he saw his parents alive was when he visited their home on the Friday before their murders. He has acknowledged his deep financial debt and strained relationship with his father but repeatedly told authorities over the years that he never would have killed him or his stepmother.
In closing arguments, Assistant State's Attorney Robert Zalud said Romano's story of going to his parents' home on that Friday just to visit was false and that he actually went there on a "dry run" to kill his parents but "something happened" and he retreated.
Romano's public defenders have noted that there was more than $200,000 in cash left at the crime scene and that there was no forensic evidence tying Romano to the scene.
They also underscored the fact that the gun used to kill the Romanos was never found. Defense attorneys also pointed out that although Romano apparently had been given three Remington-brand Golden Bullets days earlier -- the same kind used to kill the couple -- the manufacturer sold 550 million of those bullets that year.
But O'Connor, the juror, said of the bullets: "That is no coincidence."
Amanda Marrazzo is a freelance reporter.
