Paul Modrowski

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Paul Modrowski (born November 30, 1974) is an American man who was convicted of the 1992 murder of Dean Fawcett in Barrington, Illinois. The case was highly publicized in the Chicago area due to the dismemberment of Fawcett's body. Modrowski, 18 years old at the time, received a life sentence while his co-defendant Robert Faraci was found not guilty. After the trial, Faraci's wife admitted to lying in court to cover for her husband.^[1]

While incarcerated at Stateville Correctional Center, Modrowski produced a prison blog titled "Paul Modrowski- On the Inside" from 2009 to 2015. It was featured in a four-part series of episodes of the Reply All podcast in 2016.^{[2][3][4][5][relevant?]} Modrowski's sentence was commuted and he was released in July 2024.^[6]

Modrowski was raised in Dupage County, Illinois, and later moved to Mokena, Illinois.^[7][8] In late 1992, Modrowski had a falling out with his father and moved in with Robert Faraci and his then-wife Rose. Faraci, Modrowski, Fawcett and a few others allegedly took part in a check kiting scheme, where they bounced checks against an account that had been opened with a minimal deposit. Faraci had a lengthy prior criminal record, which included prison time for charges of forgery and drug use.^{[citation needed]}

On January 18, 1993, a woman and her daughter discovered a human body missing its head, left arm, and right hand, along railroad tracks in Barrington, Illinois. Through a note found in the victim's clothing containing two phone numbers, the corpse was identified as 22-year-old Dean Fawcett, who had gone missing in late December 1992. Modrowski and Faraci were identified as suspects.^[9]

A few days before Fawcett's body was discovered, Modrowski and the Faracis had relocated to Clearwater, Florida, where they resided for two months before returning to Illinois in March 1993. At this point, Modrowski ceased living with the Faracis and resided with his grandparents in Southwestern Chicago until his arrest.

On April 22, 1993, Robert Faraci was arrested for the murder of Dean Fawcett. Faraci and his then-wife alleged Modrowski had killed Fawcett and dismembered the body. They also alleged Modrowski was the perpetrator of the Brown's Chicken massacre in nearby Palatine, which had occurred on January 8, 1993.^[8][10]

Modrowski was arrested on an unrelated burglary charge on April 28, 1993, and, after being interrogated by police, was charged as a second suspect in the Dean Fawcett murder.^[11][12]

Although Modrowski was never charged for the Brown's Chicken massacre, he remained a prime suspect in that case until the arrest of Juan Luna and James Degorski in 2002, due to the proximity, timing, and shared brutal nature of the two crimes.^{[citation needed]}

Modrowski and Faraci were tried at the same time in one courtroom. Each defendant had his own separate jury and each jury was brought in and out of the courtroom based on the testimony that would be presented. The prosecution argued the three men were involved in Faraci's check fraud scheme and that Fawcett was murdered because he had threatened to expose his accomplices to the authorities. The prosecution alleged that on the night of December 28, 1992, Fawcett was lured to a forest near Barrington and shot in the head after being forced to the ground at gunpoint. It was suggested that his body was dismembered in an effort to prevent identification — Fawcett's head and missing limbs were never located.^[10][13] Officer John Robertson testified that Modrowski confessed to lending Faraci his car to carry out the murder. Modrowski denies this in his blog. Modrowski says he was with his sister at her home on the night Fawcett was murdered. ^{[citation needed]}

Modrowski claims that his defense attorney William Von Hoene refused to dispute Robertson's testimony and did not allow any witnesses to testify on his behalf, including his sister, who allegedly could have provided an alibi. Van Hoene also did not reveal Modrowski's diagnosis of autism to the jury. Modrowski has suggested that this led jury members to mistake his awkward body language, lack of eye contact and aloofness as lack of remorse and proven guilt.^{[citation needed]}

In January 1995, Rose Faraci admitted in court to lying to authorities in an attempt to direct blame away from her then-husband and towards Modrowkski and a friend. Another friend, Brian Palaz, also implicated Faraci, saying he had both planned and committed the murder.^[1]

The jury hearing the case against Faraci found him not guilty. Two days later, Modrowski's jury found Modrowski guilty of murder, determining that his statements to police proved his accountability.^[14] On April 27, 1995, Modrowski was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole by Associate Cook County Judge Sam Amirante, who told Modrowski, "I am going to give you the same hope that you gave to (Fawcett): no hope. ... You deserve the term of natural life in prison."^[15]

From 2009 to 2015, Modrowski produced a blog from prison. Modrowski, not having access to the internet, would mail handwritten letters to his mother, which she would then transcribe for the blog. In 2015, the blog was shut down after Modrowski disagreed with his mother about edits she made; in particular, she refused to acknowledge his atheism and removed all references to it from his writings.^[16]

Between 2001 and 2022, Modrowski exhausted his regular set of appeals without success. These appeals were filed without supporting documents or affidavits and his final appeal to the highest supreme court was filed one day late.^[17][18]

After exhausting his regular set of appeals, and five unsuccessful clemency petitions to the Governor of Illinois, Modrowski filed a motion for post-conviction relief in 2022. On June 28, 2024, Modrowski’s sentence was reduced to 60 years. In his decision, Cook County Judge Marc Martin noted factors such as the prosecution's failure to prove Modrowski's presence at the murder, the absence of consideration of Modrowski's autism diagnosis at the trial, and Modrowski's lack of violent history as an inmate.

After more than three decades of imprisonment, Modrowski was released from Stateville Correctional Center on July 2, 2024.^[6]

• Official page on Blogger