Prosecutors seek limits on defense expert testimony in Joliet Township murder case

Prosecutors are seeking to prevent a defense expert from testifying on what they argued was “inadmissible hearsay” in a murder case that may not go to trial next week.

The latest motion from prosecutors comes after Will County Judge Vincent Cornelius twice denied their request to block defense expert Arthur Borchers from testifying at the trial for Jeremy Boshears, 36, of Coal City.

Boshears has been charged with the 2017 murder of Kaitlyn Kearns, 24. He’s also been charged with concealing her death.

Will County Assistant State’s Attorney Steve Platek filed a motion Monday seeking to bar any testimony from Borchers on Kearns’ medical history, sexual history, possible drug use and Boshears’ statements as to what happened during the incident.

Prosecutors and Boshears’ attorney Chuck Bretz have other motions that Cornelius has not ruled on as of Tuesday.

Boshears is scheduled to go to trial on Oct. 25. Will County State’s Attorney spokeswoman Carole Cheney said that date will likely be a hearing on pending motions as Boshears was not able to appear at the Oct. 12 court hearing.

Platek’s motion on Borchers said Kearns’ murder occurred inside a house on Nov. 13, 2017, and she died from a single gunshot wound to the head.

Platek said Borchers was hired by the defense to analyze the scene of the incident and render opinions but he referenced “numerous inadmissible statements in his notes.”

Those notes include Kearns’ medical history of depression and anxiety, her use of psychiatric medication, her drug use and sexual history, Platek said.

Platek objected to Borchers’ testimony on any medical or mental health records as he does not have expertise in those fields. He also objected to Borchers testifying on Kearns’ sexual history or possible drug use as that information is “not reliable, irrelevant and was not reasonably relied upon to reconstruct the scene.”

Platek’s motion requests no testimony from Borchers as to Boshears’ “self-serving statements” about the incident.

“These statements do not possess trustworthiness beyond that possessed by an ordinary hearsay statement and do not have any relevance to the field of scene reconstruction,” Platek said.

Platek said if Borchers testified about Boshears’ statements, it would allow the jury to hear Boshears version of what happened without him undergoing cross examination.