Allan Kustok Found Dead Wife's Body in 'Abnormal' Position: Expert

Allan Kustok's story about finding his dead wife holding a gun in her right hand with her arms crossed does not jibe with an expert witness' opinion on how a body would rest after "instant incapacitation."

"That's not a position that's normal," crime scene reconstructionist Rod Englert testified during a five-hour hearing at the Bridgeview courthouse Wednesday afternoon.

The position of Kustok's wife was demonstrated by an Orland Park employee modeling the dead woman in a photograph. The employee appeared in other photos shown in court as well, sometimes with Orland Park Police Cmdr. John Keating, who played the part of alleged wife-murderer Kustok.

The lengthy hearing was convened after Kustok's attorneys challenged the foundation laid for Englert to testify as an expert. Cook County Judge John Joseph Hein said he would rule on the matter before the first day of trial testimony begins Thursday.

While he was on the stand Wednesday, Englert said he determined that there was no way Kustok's wife, Anita "Jeanie" Kustok, could have inflicted her death wound while holding a .357 revolver with either hand. Englert said it was possible for Jeanie Kustok to grip the gun with both hands inverted so she could pull the trigger with a thumb.

Englert's hearing started after attorneys finished picking jurors for the trial, selecting a total of 15. The first panel of 12 is made up of seven women and five men. Two men and a woman will serve as alternates.

Of those rejected Wednesday was a woman who said she had once been beaten and sexually assaulted, a man who said he served on a foundation to help the children of homicide victims, and a man who said he was charged with possessing a weapon while being a gang member but "beat it on a motion."

Kustok, 63, faces a charge of first-degree murder for allegedly shooting his wife in the face in September 2010. After the shooting, Allan Kustok reportedly wrapped her in sheets and a blanket and drove her to Palos Community Hospital.

Kustok's daughter, Sarah Kustok, a Brooklyn Nets reporter for the YES Network, sat behind him in the gallery again Wednesday.

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