People v. Gardner

In the early morning hours of November 18, 1985, Paul and Rosetta Paetsch, husband and wife, had fallen asleep while watching television in their home near Chillicothe, Illinois. Paul was awakened at approximately 2:30 a.m. by an intruder, who, with a companion, had entered their home. The next three hours were to be a period of terror for Paul and Rosetta. The two intruders were wearing ski masks and referred to each other as “Shawn” and “Gary.” Subsequent events were to disclose that the intruder Gary was in fact the defendant, Mark E. Gardner. With knives being held to the throats of Paul…