Burbank, IL Murder / Homicide Lawyer. A murder investigation in Illinois may be far along before police make an arrest. Investigators may have spoken with witnesses, examined phones, gathered camera footage, reviewed firearms evidence, and formed their account of the case already. By the time they ask for “your side,” they may be looking for statements that fit that theory.
Do not try to talk your way out of a murder investigation. Speak with a defense lawyer before you answer questions. People accused of murder or another homicide offense in Burbank, IL can turn to Combs Waterkotte for defense throughout the Illinois court process. Our criminal defense attorneys in Burbank, IL act quickly to protect clients before charges are filed and throughout every stage that follows. Call (314) 900-HELP for a free, confidential case review.
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This page covers:
- First-degree murder, second-degree murder, felony murder, and other homicide charges
- The facts the State must prove to obtain a murder conviction in Illinois
- Sentencing ranges for homicide offenses and firearm-related increases
- Ways a murder or homicide accusation may be challenged
- Steps to take when police suspect you were involved in a death
- The court process after an arrest for murder in Burbank, IL
- How Combs Waterkotte investigates and prepares a homicide defense
Legal Videos
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What to Do During a Murder Investigation in Burbank, IL
You do not have to be arrested or formally named as a suspect for a murder investigation to become dangerous. Police may describe you as a witness, invite you to the station, ask to look through your phone, or say they have only a few questions. Those words do not reveal whether police view you as a witness, a possible suspect, or their main target.
If police are asking about a death and there is any possibility they believe you were involved, speak with a lawyer before answering questions. Cooperating without counsel is not a safe way to fix a misunderstanding, challenge someone else’s story, or demonstrate your innocence. Detectives may later place an offhand comment beside surveillance video, phone data, witness accounts, and physical evidence.
Bringing in counsel early allows the defense to protect evidence while the investigation is still active. That may mean identifying surveillance footage, locating witnesses, preserving messages or records, documenting injuries, reviewing search warrants, and determining what investigators have already seized. In a serious homicide case, some of the most useful defense work can happen before the first court date.
After an arrest, do not talk about the facts with detectives, other people in custody, or friends and relatives on recorded jail calls. Discuss the case only with your lawyer. The prosecution has begun assembling its evidence. Your defense should be doing the same.
Burbank, IL Murder and Homicide Charges We Defend
The word “homicide” covers several situations in which one person’s actions are blamed for another person’s death. The exact charge depends on what prosecutors say the accused person intended, what conduct caused the death, whether another felony was underway, and whether facts involving justification, provocation, recklessness, drugs, or a vehicle are present.
Combs Waterkotte defends Burbank, IL clients against allegations involving:
- Murder in the first degree: Allegedly intending to kill or seriously injure someone, knowingly creating a strong chance of death or serious injury, or causing a death during specified forcible felonies.
- Illinois felony murder: When someone dies during certain serious felonies, even if the accused person did not personally cause the death.
- Murder in the second degree: A case that meets the basic requirements of first-degree murder but includes serious provocation or an honest, unreasonable belief that deadly force was justified.
- Attempted murder in the first degree: Acting with the intent to kill and taking a substantial step, but not causing the person’s death.
- Accountability for another person’s actions: Illinois law can hold someone responsible for murder based on assistance or participation, even when another person caused the fatal injury. These cases often rest on claims that the person assisted with planning, supported the crime, or helped it happen.
- Illinois involuntary manslaughter and Illinois reckless homicide: Unintentional deaths that prosecutors say resulted from reckless conduct. When a vehicle is involved, the charge may be reckless homicide rather than involuntary manslaughter.
- Illinois drug-induced homicide: When prosecutors claim someone provided illegal drugs that caused another person’s death.
- Other related charges: Murder-for-hire charges, soliciting a killing, conspiring with others, concealing a death, firearm and weapons offenses, and accusations of obstructing the investigation.
No matter how serious the allegation sounds, the State must prove it using legally admissible proof. In some cases, the real fight is over identity. Other cases turn on what the accused intended, what actually caused the death, whether force was justified, whether the person can be held accountable for someone else, or whether felony murder applies at all.
What the State Must Prove for First-Degree Murder in Burbank, IL
Illinois defines first-degree murder in 720 ILCS 5/9-1 in three main ways. Prosecutors can pursue the charge by claiming the person:
- intended to kill or cause great bodily harm, or knew the acts would cause death;
- knew the actions were highly likely to kill someone or cause great bodily harm; or
- took part in a qualifying forcible felony and a death was caused by the accused or another person involved.
Because intent cannot usually be seen directly, prosecutors often point to the person’s words, the weapon, the injuries, earlier messages, conduct before the event, and actions afterward. Those facts can support more than one interpretation. The defense’s job is to expose the gaps between what the evidence proves and what the State asks a jury to infer.
How Second-Degree Murder Works in Burbank, IL
Second-degree murder in Illinois is not simply a less serious version of first-degree murder. The State must still establish the elements of intentional or knowing first-degree murder. The offense becomes second-degree murder when the defense proves one of two mitigating circumstances:
- Serious provocation caused the person to act under a sudden and intense passion; or
- The accused honestly, but unreasonably, believed that deadly force was necessary in self-defense or defense of someone else.
Illinois explains these requirements in the Illinois second-degree murder statute, 720 ILCS 5/9-2. Prosecutors still have to prove the underlying murder charge beyond a reasonable doubt. If the evidence supports self-defense, the State may have to disprove legal justification as well.
Second-degree murder cases often turn on details that may seem minor at first. Prior threats, injuries, whether someone displayed a weapon, what witnesses saw, 911 calls, and what happened in the seconds leading up to the death can all affect how the case is charged and defended. Depending on the evidence, the case may involve lawful self-defense, second-degree murder, a different homicide offense, or no criminal conduct.
Prison Sentences for Murder and Homicide in Illinois
Under Illinois law, a standard first-degree murder sentence runs from 20 to 60 years in prison, as explained in Illinois law governing first-degree murder sentences. If an extended sentence applies, the range can increase to 60 to 100 years, while some circumstances allow or require a natural-life sentence. Probation and conditional discharge are not available. The Illinois General Assembly’s sentencing provision lists these sentencing ranges and restrictions.
Illinois firearm enhancements can increase a murder sentence by decades. Illinois law provides for an additional 15 years when the person was armed with a firearm, 20 years when they personally fired it, and 25 years to natural life when the shooting caused great bodily harm, permanent disability, permanent disfigurement, or death. Depending on the circumstances, prosecutors may file additional Illinois firearm offenses, based on who allegedly possessed or used the firearm.
- Illinois attempted first-degree murder: The normal sentencing range is 6 to 30 years because attempted first-degree murder is usually treated as a Class X felony. Special aggravating circumstances and firearm findings can increase that range substantially.
- Second-degree murder: Illinois treats it as a Class 1 felony but uses a special sentencing range of 4 to 20 years under Illinois Class 1 felony sentencing law.
- Illinois involuntary manslaughter and reckless homicide: Under Illinois law on involuntary manslaughter and reckless homicide, these offenses are generally Class 3 felonies, carrying 2 to 5 years in prison. Certain circumstances can raise the charge to a Class 2 felony, which carries 3 to 7 years in prison. Examples include certain cases with multiple deaths or victims who were peace officers, emergency responders, construction workers, school crossing guards, or family or household members.
- An Illinois drug-induced homicide conviction: Illinois law on drug-induced homicide can apply when an illegal drug delivery is alleged to have caused another person’s death. The offense is a Class X felony, and certain cases carry 15 to 30 years, with an extended range of 30 to 60 years.
Defenses to Murder and Homicide Charges in Burbank, IL
There is no stock defense for a homicide case. The defense has to fit the specific charge, the State’s evidence, and the facts counsel can verify outside the police reports. Several issues appear often.
The Use of Force Was Legally Justified
Under Illinois self-defense law, a person can use force when they reasonably believe it is necessary to protect themselves or someone else from the immediate threat of unlawful force. Deadly force is allowed only when the person reasonably believes it is necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm to themselves or another person, or to prevent certain serious felonies.
A self-defense case is built from facts, not the label alone. The analysis may involve injuries, earlier threats, the presence of weapons, where each person stood, what the accused knew, witness testimony, and the exact sequence of events.
The Wrong Person Was Accused
An identification is not automatically reliable because a witness sounds certain. A witness may have identified general features or clothing rather than the person who actually caused the death. Digital evidence may place a device near an area without identifying its user. Another person may have motive, access, or possession of the weapon. The defense can compare the identification with alibi information, surveillance footage, time records, documents, and witnesses investigators failed to interview.
The Evidence Does Not Prove Intent or Knowledge
A death does not by itself establish first-degree murder. Except in a felony-murder case, prosecutors must prove that the accused had the intent or knowledge required by the theory they charged. The facts may show an absence of criminal intent including an accidental act, recklessness rather than intent, or another explanation for the fatal injury. Medical records, pathology, and physical evidence can also conflict with the prosecution’s claim of intent.
The Accused Person’s Conduct Did Not Cause the Death
A homicide conviction requires a legally sufficient link between the alleged conduct and the fatal result. The connection may be unclear in cases involving multiple wounds, several participants, delayed care, intoxication, a later event, or a serious preexisting condition. Hospital records, autopsy findings, and outside expert analysis may challenge the State’s timeline or cause-of-death theory.
Evidence Was Collected Through an Illegal Search or Interrogation
Evidence from a phone, house, vehicle, interrogation, lineup, or arrest may be contested when officers acted outside the law. Device searches require close scrutiny because a single phone may contain communications, images, browsing activity, location data, and a long record of someone’s private life. There are legal limits on police searches of phones in Illinois and what investigators are allowed to access.
Felony Murder or Accountability Has Been Stretched Too Far
In a multi-person case, prosecutors may try to turn association into participation. The case may turn on whether the accused intended to assist, provided any real help, withdrew from the conduct, or was only present at the scene. In Illinois felony-murder cases, counsel may also attack the alleged predicate felony, the connection between that felony and the death, and the claim that the accused or another participant caused it.
Steps to Take If Police Connect You to a Burbank, IL Murder
Do not give an interview without a lawyer. A person who did nothing wrong can still give a damaging answer while scared, tired, or trying to figure out what police know. Prosecutors may later portray minor differences between statements as signs of guilt. Tell officers plainly that you will remain silent and that you want a lawyer.
Decline requests for permission to search. Do not physically resist officers or interfere with a warrant. You may refuse permission without resisting, then have an attorney review whether police acted lawfully.
Do not erase or alter digital information. Deleting messages, accounts, photographs, location history, or posts can destroy evidence that helps the defense and can create a new allegation. Leave the information as it is. Do not contact witnesses to coordinate stories, and assume calls from a jail are recorded.
Share every relevant detail with your defense lawyer. Names, prior threats, injuries, missing property, cameras, receipts, rideshare records, and people who saw you before or after the incident may all matter. Keep the information within the attorney-client relationship instead of posting or texting about it.
What to Expect After a Murder Arrest in Burbank, IL
The State may seek pretrial detention in cases involving first-degree or second-degree murder. Detention is not automatic simply because the charge is serious. The State must file a petition and meet the requirements of Illinois pretrial law, and the court must consider whether release conditions can address the specific risk alleged. The current procedure appears in the Illinois pretrial detention statute, 725 ILCS 5/110-6.1.
The next stages may include a preliminary hearing or grand jury, formal arraignment, exchange of evidence, pretrial motions, negotiations, and a jury trial. Discovery in a murder case can include massive police files, surveillance recordings, device data, forensic testing, medical records, and expert reports. Even with a large discovery file, counsel should act early on disappearing evidence, potentially unlawful statements, hard-to-find witnesses, and expert analysis that becomes more difficult as time passes.
Early choices after a murder arrest can have lasting consequences. Your statements, responses to search requests, conversations with other people, and preservation of evidence can all become important. Our guide to what to do after being charged with a felony in Burbank, IL explains which actions may help protect the case.
How Combs Waterkotte Prepares a Homicide Defense in Burbank, IL
Combs Waterkotte has handled more than 10,000 criminal cases and has earned more than 500 top-rated reviews on Google. Clients have access to former prosecutors, attorneys with law-enforcement experience, our own investigator, and qualified outside experts when the case requires them. A murder defense needs real investigative resources because prosecutors begin with support from police, forensic laboratories, analysts, and specialists.
Depending on the case, our defense work may include:
- communicating with investigators before the client submits to questioning or turns themselves in;
- organizing reports, recordings, digital files, and physical evidence so the defense can evaluate the entire case;
- building an independent timeline from video, communications, records, and witness interviews;
- examining warrants, interrogations, identifications, and evidence handling for legal problems;
- using investigators and qualified experts to test forensic, medical, digital, or weapons evidence;
- challenging evidence and legal theories through focused pretrial motions;
- considering negotiation options without treating a plea agreement as the default outcome; and
- building the defense with a possible jury trial in mind from the start.
Trial preparation changes how a case is evaluated before trial. Weak witnesses have to be found. Forensic and medical opinions need to hold up when challenged. The prosecution’s sequence must make sense down to the minute. The State can tell the difference between a defense that is ready for trial and one that is hoping for a deal.
We also defend the following charges in Burbank, IL:
Contact a Murder / Homicide Lawyer in Burbank, IL
Investigators are not required to tell you that they view you as a suspect. They can call you a witness, request your device, or say a brief interview is all they need. Get legal advice before making a statement, handing over a device, or consenting to any search.
Speak with Combs Waterkotte at (314) 900-HELP. Another option is to contact us online for a confidential case review. A Burbank, IL murder and homicide lawyer from our team is available 24 hours a day.
