Lockport double murder case set for trial

The case against a Crestwood man charged with killing a woman and her child in Lockport has been scheduled to go to trial this fall.

On April 19, both parties in the case against Anthony Maggio, 29, agreed to set the case for trial Sept. 30, according to court records. Before the trial, both parties plan to have a hearing Aug. 1 that may decide what evidence is included or excluded in the case.

Maggio is charged with the Oct. 2, 2020, first-degree murder of Ashtin Eaton, 32, and her baby, Hazel Bryant. A grand jury returned an indictment Jan. 5, 2023, that included six counts of first-degree murder charges against Maggio.

Will County prosecutors have alleged that Maggio, who was in a relationship with Eaton and is the father of Bryant, killed both of them and staged Eaton’s death to look like a suicide.

In a new court filing, Maggio’s attorney, Michael Clancy, said he may call Maggio’s wife to testify in the case. Clancy said his client will also offer a “defense of an alibi.”

Clancy claimed Maggio was with his wife “at the time of the alleged offense” in Crestwood.

In past pretrial hearings in the case, prosecutors have alleged a forensic pathologist determined Eaton died as a result of strangulation and her daughter died by suffocation. Eaton also had a wrist cut but prosecutors said that was not the cause of her death.

Clancy claimed there is DNA evidence from “male contributors” on Eaton’s shirt and fingernails. Clancy has contended the police investigation was flawed and that there is another suspect who was not thoroughly investigated.

Maggio has been in the Will County jail since Dec. 14, 2022, with a bond set at $10 million. A judge has twice denied lowering the bond.

For more than two years, police officials in Lockport did not publicly release any information surrounding the deaths of Eaton and her child until their investigation led to the arrest of Maggio in 2022.

Will County Coroner Laurie Summers’ office announced their deaths Oct. 3, 2020, but did not name them at the request of the police department. As of Tuesday, Summers’ office has not publicly said their deaths were the result of an apparent homicide.