People v. Meras

Following a bench trial, defendant, Demaso Meras, was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder (720 ILCS 5/9 — 1(a) (West 1992)) and sentenced to 45 years’ imprisonment. On appeal, he asserts that (1) the trial court erred in admitting the victim’s dying statement to his brother as an excited utterance; (2) he was not proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt; (3) the indictment was fatally defective because the State modified the cause of death in its closing argument; (4) his conviction should be reduced to second-degree murder; (5) he was denied effective assistance of counsel; and (6)…