People v. Gersch

Defendant, William F. Gersch, was indicted for the murder of his wife, Gwendolyn Gersch. Prior to trial, defendant expressly waived his right to a jury and requested a bench trial. The State opposed defendant’s request and asserted its statutory right to a jury trial under section 115 — 1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 38, par. 115-1). The trial court granted the State’s motion for a trial by jury. Following the trial in the circuit court of Cook County, the jury found defendant guilty of murder (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 38, par. 9 — 1) and guilty of…