Murder of Jeanine Nicarico

[justins5256]

I know this story was shown on NBC and Lifetime as part of the "new" repackaged episode junk. Does anyone know if it was on Lifetime before this?

Some details: Nccarico was a 10 year old girl from Chicago who was abducted from her home and subsequently raped and murdered. The police charged two men, Alex Hernandez and Rolando Cruz, with the crime. Both were put on death row and later exonerated. Another man, Brian Duggan, confessed to the murder but was never charged.

Thanks,
Justin

[Kane]

I saw it once on NBC, and, more than likely, Lifetime didn't air it until 2002, when it was intermixed with a first-run episode.

[TJ]

There was additional footage and reporting from a Chicago station that was on the original broadcast that wasn't shown when it aired on Lifetime in one of the re-mixed episodes.

[UMfan77]

I have that segment on tape, I think I recorded it about 3 or 4 months ago. What a messed up case, one of the investigators that was working on the case quit because he was disgusted with how it was being handled. From what I got from the segment, the case was mishandled. May Janine rest in peace.

[SP4CE INV4DERZ]

I was just fishing through some UM tapes I actually had recorded about 10 years ago can came across the Final Appeal of Rolando Cruz. Just watching it, I got the feeling the guy is innocent and I'm so glad to now hear that he and Alex Hernandez were released from prison! ps, sorry for bringing up an old post.

[crystaldawn]

I found this recent article about Brian Dugan (the man who is about to stand trial for and has admitted to killing Jeanine). His own sister believes he should receive the death penalty.

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/h...2_DUGAN_S1.htm

Actually I get the Chicago news on my cable and Rolando Cruz's name is mentioned on there sometimes. Apparently he has gotten in several scrapes with the law since he was freed and of course any thing involving him always makes the news.

[synthisislab]

So did Brian Dugan get convicted and receive the death penalty? That link doesn't work anymore, Heather.

[Kane]

Originally Posted by synthisislab

So did Brian Dugan get convicted and receive the death penalty?

In response to your post, I googled "Brian Dugan" and have found a couple of recent articles mentioning the case. Dugan is currently awaiting trial for Jeanine's murder.

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/b...web_s1.article

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=194942

[kadrmas15]

Well Dugan, it is about time he is held accountable for this murder. I dont want him to get the DP though. But there is a moratorium in Illinois that doesnt look like it will be ending anytime soon so he will probably die of natural causes before he would be executed.

This case was botched so badly by DuPage County authorities both in the police and state's attorney's office and then on top of it when they actually had the guy that did it they didnt charge him until fairly recently? I mean, Dugan supposedly was a suspect in this case from the 1980's onward! Supposedly he was even looked at in 1983, but the cops dismissed him, afterall they had Rolando Cruz and Alex Hernandez, so they already had their 'suspects'.

Dugan had a very lengthy criminal record even before the Nccarico killing. His criminal records dates back to 1976 when he was 19 years old. He was convicted of arson and sentenced to 3 years in prison but was paroled after a few months. In 1977 at age 20 he was convicted of burglary and sentenced to 6 years but was paroled after less than two. In 1979 was convicted of burglary again and sentenced to 7 years in prison and he was released after 3 and a half years.

What amazes me most in this case though is how after Cruz and Hernandez were exonorated, how the cops and prosecutors that lied to put them in prison in the first place, all those former cops and prosecutors were all acquitted at their trials! Incredible! The jurors even walked up to them and exchanged high five's and hugs. It is just unbelievable. This even after one retired DuPage County cop admitted he lied but was acquitted anyway. Of course this is part of the highly corrupt system in Illinois but particularly in the Chicago metro area, DuPage and Cook County being the two most notorious ones.

The highlight of this story though is Cruz and Hernandez were exonorated and that is always good. It is better late than never. Cruz has been in a few minor scrapes with the law and because he was exonorated the slanted media feels the need to victimize him yet again. I dont think Cruz himself would claim he was an angel by any means.

But I'm glad Cruz and Hernandez were exonorated. The system worked its mistakes out this time and thankfully an innocent man wasnt executed because of it. Remember though, Cruz and Hernandez werent wrongfully convicted once but twice. Cruz got sentenced to death both times while after Hernandez's 2nd trial he was spared the death penalty but was sentenced to 80 years in prison.

When Cruz and Hernandez were released, the Nccarico's were angry, furious. It took years for them to accept it was Dugan that did it and not Cruz and Hernandez. It is just sad though that the DuPage County cops and prosecutors were acquitted largely because the Nccarico's supported them. They didnt even realize how brainwashed they had been by the people that were supposed to be helping them.

Anyway, sorry for the soapbox. I am glad Brian Dugan is finally getting held accountable for his actions and that the Nccarico's have finally accepted that he really is the killer of their daughter. It is just too bad the DuPage County authorities and the state of Illinois seemed to have learned virtually nothing from the wrongful convictions of Cruz and Hernandez.

[WishfulDreamer]

I haven't seen this segment in years, since I was a little girl myself. I've been trying to find it on the forbidden site, but it seems kind of rare. This one always stuck with me and while I'm happy that the real killer is finally being tried, any sentence they give him is too good for him. He deserves to fry.

[TheCars1986]

They showed this one on the "revamped" UM a couple of days ago and I watched it. Cruz and Hernandez were released, and Dugan was finally charged with the crime. One question (I'm not sure whether or not they showed additional details on the original NBC broadcast), what "evidence" did they have on Cruz and Hernandez? The shoeprints did not match either man and as far as I can tell (based off of the revamped UM segment) was that both men began to "brag" and implicate others involved in the crime to try and collect the reward. Was this the only thing they were convicted on or did the prosecution have other "evidence" against them? If they didn't have other "facts" on these men this is the biggest miscarriage of justice this country has ever seen.

[justins5256]

Originally Posted by TheCars1986

They showed this one on the "revamped" UM a couple of days ago and I watched it. Cruz and Hernandez were released, and Dugan was finally charged with the crime. One question (I'm not sure whether or not they showed additional details on the original NBC broadcast), what "evidence" did they have on Cruz and Hernandez? The shoeprints did not match either man and as far as I can tell (based off of the revamped UM segment) was that both men began to "brag" and implicate others involved in the crime to try and collect the reward. Was this the only thing they were convicted on or did the prosecution have other "evidence" against them? If they didn't have other "facts" on these men this is the biggest miscarriage of justice this country has ever seen.

I watched the NBC version of this case last week. Even then, I sort of felt like some major pieces were missing. While I feel that Cruz and Hernandez were innocent, the presentation of the case was extremely slanted in their favor with UM not even attempting to tell the other side of the story. For example, no one who believed Cruz and Hernandez were guilty was interviewed.

Based on the segment alone, it seems the men were convicted primarily on the fact that they bragged about committing the crime. I think it was also mentioned that the boot print was the same shoe size of one of the three men who was charged - I think his name was Buckley(?). This man was acquitted - though I can't remember if he was initially convicted and acquitted on re-trial, or if he was acquitted the first time. Regardless, he didn't get a death sentence like Cruz and Hernandez.

The impression I got was that the police and prosecution screwed up, knew they screwed up, yet refused to admit it or even attempt to rectify the wrong. I remember reading somewhere (probably here) about how several police officials were charged and eventually acquitted of perjury pertaining to this case.

The whole thing was a mess and UM was probably out of their depth in taking the case.

[TheCars1986]

I still don't see why a member of the prosecution wouldn't want to have appeared on camera stating all of the "evidence" that he/she had against the 3 men. This is definitely a case where the state does not want to admit when they've made a colossal boo boo.

[Steve W.]

Something I always wondered was how that POS Dugan knew that a little girl was in the home when he broke into it. Had he seen her in days or weeks prior and started scouting out the house and the area?

I saw another photo (different from UM segment) of Jeanine with her bicycle (probably the summer or fall before this happened) and she was such a cute little girl, reminded me of my niece. It makes me sad and angry. She did absolutely nothing to put herself in danger and this POS breaks into her home one afternoon and takes her.

[mystery_daisy]

Originally Posted by kadrmas15

Well Dugan, it is about time he is held accountable for this murder. I dont want him to get the DP though. But there is a moratorium in Illinois that doesnt look like it will be ending anytime soon so he will probably die of natural causes before he would be executed.

This case was botched so badly by DuPage County authorities both in the police and state's attorney's office and then on top of it when they actually had the guy that did it they didnt charge him until fairly recently? I mean, Dugan supposedly was a suspect in this case from the 1980's onward! Supposedly he was even looked at in 1983, but the cops dismissed him, afterall they had Rolando Cruz and Alex Hernandez, so they already had their 'suspects'.

Dugan had a very lengthy criminal record even before the Nccarico killing. His criminal records dates back to 1976 when he was 19 years old. He was convicted of arson and sentenced to 3 years in prison but was paroled after a few months. In 1977 at age 20 he was convicted of burglary and sentenced to 6 years but was paroled after less than two. In 1979 was convicted of burglary again and sentenced to 7 years in prison and he was released after 3 and a half years.

What amazes me most in this case though is how after Cruz and Hernandez were exonorated, how the cops and prosecutors that lied to put them in prison in the first place, all those former cops and prosecutors were all acquitted at their trials! Incredible! The jurors even walked up to them and exchanged high five's and hugs. It is just unbelievable. This even after one retired DuPage County cop admitted he lied but was acquitted anyway. Of course this is part of the highly corrupt system in Illinois but particularly in the Chicago metro area, DuPage and Cook County being the two most notorious ones.

The highlight of this story though is Cruz and Hernandez were exonorated and that is always good. It is better late than never. Cruz has been in a few minor scrapes with the law and because he was exonorated the slanted media feels the need to victimize him yet again. I dont think Cruz himself would claim he was an angel by any means.

But I'm glad Cruz and Hernandez were exonorated. The system worked its mistakes out this time and thankfully an innocent man wasnt executed because of it. Remember though, Cruz and Hernandez werent wrongfully convicted once but twice. Cruz got sentenced to death both times while after Hernandez's 2nd trial he was spared the death penalty but was sentenced to 80 years in prison.

When Cruz and Hernandez were released, the Nccarico's were angry, furious. It took years for them to accept it was Dugan that did it and not Cruz and Hernandez. It is just sad though that the DuPage County cops and prosecutors were acquitted largely because the Nccarico's supported them. They didnt even realize how brainwashed they had been by the people that were supposed to be helping them.

Anyway, sorry for the soapbox. I am glad Brian Dugan is finally getting held accountable for his actions and that the Nccarico's have finally accepted that he really is the killer of their daughter. It is just too bad the DuPage County authorities and the state of Illinois seemed to have learned virtually nothing from the wrongful convictions of Cruz and Hernandez.

Thanks for the info. Your post was a welcome one because upon reading through the thread, the first post i had misread that Cruz and Hernandez were *executed* on death row which was not the case. I had this sinking feeling of how tragic about Jeanine and these 2 gentlemen until your thread spelled out the situation for me again since apparently I am blind.

The fact that the guilty prosecutors and cops were acquitted just means this kind of thing will keep happening. People not guilty of the crimes they have been charged with are incarcerated and left to rot even when new evidence proves their innocence. Good for Cruz and Hernandez that they are out now, but something needs to be done about these corrupt officials who want nothing more than fake good reputations and powerful positions when they are the scourge of society.

Edited to add:

Poor little Jeanine. Apparently the only reason Dugan finally admitted he killed her was because he had already been caught killing another little girl and wanted to keep from getting the death penalty. He also confessed to 2 other murders. Filthy creep!