Crime & Safety

Jeanie Kustok's Killer Was Wearing Allan Kustok's Clothes: Expert

Distinct blood-spatter patterns on Allan Kustok's shirt, shorts and glasses show they were worn by his wife's killer, a crime scene reconstructionist testified.

An expert witness testifying at Allan Kustok's murder stopped short of naming who killed the Orland Park man's wife—but did say the murderer was wearing Kustok's shirt, shorts and glasses.

Crime scene reconstructionist Rod Englert was the only witness called Tuesday. He spent hours on the stand explaining the significance of blood-spatter patterns and his analysis of the death scene in the bedroom of Allan and his wife, Anita "Jeanie" Kustok.

Englert had already undergone lengthy questioning two weeks ago when defense attorneys tried without success to stop him from testifying. That marathon session on the witness stand was undertaken without a jury in the courtroom.

This time, the jury was there and they got to hear Englert tell not only how the blood evidence linked Allan Kustok to the crime, but that theories on how Jeanie Kustok killed herself—either accidentally or on purpose—were implausible.

Jeanie Kustok was shot through the face as she lay in bed in September 2010. Kustok, 63, claimed he was actually asleep at the time his wife was killed, according to videotaped statements he made to police. Allan Kustok explained that a gunshot woke him up and he discovered his wife was dead next to him in bed.

Englert said he took Allan Kustok's videotaped statements into account when he pieced together his idea of the murder scene. As part of the reconstruction, Englert had an Orland Park village employee play the part of Jeanie Kustok by posing in bed as the dead woman.

Defense attorney Laura Marosk claimed Englert got Allan Kustok's statements wrong and also argued that two of the expert's key pieces of evidence—Allan Kustok's bloody Philadelphia Soul T-shirt and his eyeglasses—were improperly handled by the police, whom she referred to as the "Keystone Cops."

Marosk's cross examination of Englert was to resume Wednesday morning.

One juror was excused for the remainder of the trial. Cook County Judge John Joseph Hynes said the juror had gone to the hospital to have a baby. She was replaced by one of the three alternate jurors.

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