Aug. 7, 2023 8:50a; Update 6p...Monday's motions hearing was postponed due to the unavailability of the judge assigned to the case.
(WGTD)---An attorney who represents a woman convicted of murder in Racine County in a 24-year-old case says her client deserves a new trial.
67-year-old Linda LaRoche was sentenced last year to life in prison without the possibility of parole in the killing of Peggy Lynn Johnson-Schroeder. LaRoche had taken in the homeless, mentally-challenged victim and hired her to serve as a housekeeper in her McHenry County, Illinois home.
During the trial, LaRoche’s children testified that their mother was abusive toward Johnson-Schroeder.
In a case that was largely circumstantial, the prosecution contended that LaRoche eventually killed the woman, drove to Wisconsin and dumped the body in a Town of Raymond field. The body was discovered by passersby.
An autopsy revealed numerous broken bones and signs of torture. LaRoche’s new attorney, Laura Walker, contends her client’s first attorneys didn’t fully explore a possible connection between this murder and the death of Mary Kate Chamizo, another mentally challenged woman whose body turned up in a North Chicago forest preserve six months after Johnson-Schroeder was killed.
In court filings, attorney Walker claims the injuries that the two women suffered, including genitalia mutilation, were almost identical.
In addition, Walker raises new questions about the DNA of an unknown male found under the fingernails of Johnson-Schroeder. Walker says the DNA should be compared to a national database.
A motions hearing in Racine Court is scheduled for Monday afternoon.
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