When Gecht was first arrested, he had to be released since the police had insufficient evidence to connect him to the crimes. After further investigation, though, the police discovered that in 1981, he rented a motel room along with three friends who each had adjoining rooms. The hotel manager said they had held loud parties and appeared to be involved in some kind of cult. Robin Gecht was first arrested on October 20, 1982, after police connected his van to the October 6 attack on Beverley Washington. Several days later, Gecht posted bond and was released. Police re-arrested Gecht on November 5 and then tracked down the other men, Edward Spreitzer and the Kokoraleis brothers. Gecht was later indicted and ordered to be held on $1 million bond. In 1984, in a bid for leniency, Spreitzer pleaded guilty to murder in the deaths of Shui Mak, Rose Davis, Sandra Delaware, and Rafael Tirado, as well as attempted murder, aggravated kidnapping, deviant sexual assault, and rape. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole. In 1986, Spreitzer was convicted of murder and aggravated kidnapping in the death of Linda Sutton. The prosecution sought a death sentence. During the sentencing phase, Spreitzer's attorney Carol Anfinson argued he was "immature, impulsive and simplistic," and was following the orders of the gang's leader Robin Gecht. She described him as a lonely person who would "do almost anything" to please his friend. The prosecution described Spreitzer as "every woman's nightmare," calling the gang "cowardly weasels who roamed in packs to prey on women." Spreitzer was sentenced to death. In 1985, Andrew Kokoraleis was convicted of murder, aggravated kidnapping, and rape in the death of Rose Davis. The prosecution sought a death sentence. During the sentencing phase, Andrew's attorney said his client had been "a follower ... not an organizer, not the prime mover" in Davis's murder. The jury spared Andrew's life after deliberating for 90 minutes, and he was sentenced to life in prison without parole. On March 18, 1987, Andrew was convicted of murder and aggravated kidnapping in the death of Lorraine Borowski. He was sentenced to death on April 30, 1987, and executed by
lethal injection on March 17, 1999. He declined a last meal. Andrew's last words were, "To the Borowski family, I am truly sorry for your loss. I mean this sincerely." He then cited verses from the
Biblical books of
Exodus and
Proverbs and added: "Repent ye, for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand." In 2003, Spreitzer's sentence was commuted to life in prison without parole after Governor
George H. Ryan commuted the sentences of everyone on death row in Illinois. Incidentally, Andrew Kokoraleis was Governor Ryan's only execution, just over two months into his administration. Andrew was also the last inmate executed in Illinois, almost 12 years before
Governor Pat Quinn signed legislation to abolish the death penalty on March 9, 2011, and commuted the sentences of the state's last 15 death row inmates to life imprisonment without parole. The Kokoraleis brothers were raised
Greek Orthodox. The Orthodox Church attempted unsuccessfully to keep Andrew Kokoraleis from being executed. Demetrios Kantzavelos, then a chancellor (later a bishop) of the
Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago, became an anti-death-penalty activist as a result of the execution and helped lobby to end the death penalty in the state. Thomas Kokoraleis was convicted of murder and rape in the death of Lorraine Borowski. As a reward for his detailed confession, he was sentenced to life in prison without parole. On appeal, Thomas's rape conviction was reversed, and he won a new trial on his murder conviction. Rather than face a retrial, Thomas pleaded guilty to Borowski's murder in exchange for a 70-year sentence. Charges in the murder of Linda Sutton were dismissed as part of the plea agreement. Thomas was scheduled to be paroled on September 30, 2017, but was denied release after he did not find an approved place to live. He was released from prison on March 29, 2019. In an interview with
WBBM-TV, Thomas proclaimed his innocence, saying, "Everybody thinks I'm a monster. I'm not a monster." As of August 2024, Kokoraleis resided in
Peoria, Illinois. At the time of his arrest, Thomas Kokoraleis was a painter with no criminal record. He was described as having a "borderline range of intellect", with an IQ of 75. == David Gecht ==