Judge frees man who beat prowler to death

Press, 12 July 1984, Page 25

Judge frees man who beat prowler to death

NZPA-AP Chicago A judge who says a man’s home is his castle has ordered the release of a man who used a baseball bat to kill a prowler in his house after it was burgled 15 times.

Frank Janac, aged 43, became a free man after Judge Joseph Macellaio found no reason to hold him for trial in the death of Darren Davis, aged 16, on May 28. Davis was beaten with a baseball bat and his corpse was stabbed 12 times after he broke into Mr Janac’s home. His dead body was found, hands and feet bound, in the trunk of Mr Janac’s car.

Davis had broken into Mr Janac’s home twice before he was killed, the latest occurring three days before

his death, said Mr Paul Nealis, Mr Janac’s attorney. Mr Nealis praised the Judge’s actions and said that his client did what he had to do to protect himself and his home.

He said that Mr Janac, a construction worker who had lived in his home since he was born, felt very relieved after the case was dropped. Prosecutors had argued that Mr Janac’s actions went beyond self-defence. The Judge rejected their argument and noted that a medical report showed Davis apparently died of head injuries inflicted by the baseball bat — and not the stab wounds.

“They did not prove the amount of force used was unreasonable,” the Judge said after the hearing. “A

man’s home is his castle.” Mr Nealis said that Mr Janac’s home had been broken into 15 times in the last three years. Three days before Memorial Day, Mr Janac’s home was broken into by Davis and some of Mr Janac’s possessions were found at Davis’s home, Mr Nealis said. When Davis returned the next Monday, Mr Janac was waiting inside his locked home with a baseball bat. There was a vicious fight, Mr Nealis said, and Mr Janac was hit with a crowbar. He suffered welts on the arms, a bruised eye, and other injuries.

Mr Nealis said that a person, aged 20, who was with Davis during the latest incident still faced burglary charges.