Police Close Murder Case Involving Daley Nephew, Not Revealing Who Did It

By Chuck Sudo in News on Mar 7, 2011 2:00PM

Prescott linked to a story in yesterday's police blotter regarding the 2004 killing of David Koschman from injuries sustained from one punch by a group that included Richard "R.J." Vanecko, one of Mayor Daley's nephews. Witnesses to the killing told the Sun-Times that Koschman was not the instigator in the fight that led to his death (declared a homicide by the County Medical Examiner). The police said over the weekend that the case has been "CLEARED CLOSED/EXCEPTIONALLY." No charges have been filed.

But the Sun-Times also writes that, based on its investigation, the witness accounts and descriptions by police, the identity of the person who threw the punch was Vanecko. The police department's announcement that the case was closed again with no charges being filed against Vanecko (who declined to speak to the Sun-Times on the advice of his attorneys) has spurred Ald. Howard Brookins and Freddrenna Lyle to call for another investigation so that the "public is satisfied that it isn’t a cover-up," Brookins said.

Chicago Now's Michael Ciric thinks the feds should be called in, citing the inconsistencies in the case by legal experts and the actions of the police department in the original investigation. One detective told Koschman's mother, Nanci, that David Koschman "deserved what he got." Another policeman said that Nanci Koschman would be "impressed by the names" that were redacted from the police report into her son's death.