People v. Matney

Following a jury trial, defendant, Gary D. Matney, appeals his conviction of first-degree murder (720 ILCS 5/9 — 1(a)(1), (a)(2) (West 1994)). On appeal, defendant contends that (1) the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress statements; (2) the trial court erred in giving the jury instructions over defendant’s objections regarding defendant’s failure to testify; and (3) he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel. We affirm.

This case arose from the death of Ronald Pecore, who was killed by a train on July 7, 1995. During police questioning, defendant confessed to knocking…