People v. Caballero

Defendant, Juan Caballero, appeals from an order of the circuit court of Cook County dismissing, without an evidentiary hearing, his petition for post-conviction relief (725 ILCS 5/122 — 1 et seq. (West 1992)) and relief from judgment (735 ILCS 5/2 — 1401 (West 1992)). Because defendant was sentenced to death for the underlying murder convictions, the present appeal lies directly to this court. 134 Ill. 2d R. 651(a).

Early on the morning of February 25, 1979, the bodies of three teenage males, Michael Salcido, Arthur Salcido, and Frank Mussa, were discovered in a car in a Chicago alley. In…