Man guilty in girlfriend’s murder

Jarosik faces possible sentence of 45 to 65 years

A jury found a Schererville man guilty Friday of beating his girlfriend to death.

Paul Jarosik, 38, was charged in the April 2, 2020, murder of Michelle Brown, 46.

The trial was held before Lake Superior Judge Samuel Cappas in Crown Point.

Jarosik faces 45 to 65 years. His sentencing is scheduled in April.

The jury deliberated for a couple of hours before rendering a verdict.

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Infinity Westberg alleged in closing arguments that Jarosik beat Brown several times in the past.

Jarosik was mad she wasn’t paying rent, she said. Evidence suggested he kicked Brown repeatedly and she died instantly from brain damage she suffered.

Jarosik went to work, came home from his shift, then called 911. He sent texts, then “read” the later ones on her phone to falsely show she was still alive, according to Westberg.

Jarosik’s defense lawyer Herb Shaps argued the evidence showed Jarosik was at work in the time frame Brown died.

Schererville police arrived just after 1 p.m. April 2, 2020, to the couple’s apartment in the 2100 block of Meadow Lane.

Brown was on the floor as Jarosik was trying to perform CPR with help from 911 dispatchers. She was “stiff ” and “cold to the touch” with a “bump” on her forehead and leg bruises, according to court records, and her “upper jaw” and limbs showed signs of rigor mortis.

Halfway through Brown’s autopsy a forensic pathologist found multiple signs of abuse and internal injuries, including “fresh” blows to the head and internal injuries on her right torso, according to the affidavit.

Her death was ruled a homicide due to a “massive head injury” from a “blunt force trauma to the head.”

Jarosik gave co-workers different stories, saying Brown was “diabetic” and died in her sleep, or had high blood pressure, or “bumped her head,” according to court documents.

“It’s not some stranger,” Westberg said in closing arguments Friday. Brown had the kind of head wounds and internal injuries an “intimate” partner would inflict, she said.

Once Brown was dead, Jarosik looked through Brown’s cellphone

for what she told people about her past injuries to get his story straight.

“He had to get ahead of it,” Westberg said.

Jarosik was the one who was last seen with her and had everything to gain by lying to police about how she died, the prosecutor said.

On the 911 call he made just after 1 p.m. on April 2, Jarosik was calm, “like he was ordering a pizza.”

The couple had a controlling and “volatile” relationship. One recording appeared to show Jarosik telling Brown to “jump off an (expletive) bridge” because “no one would miss you.”

Neighbors reported repeated fights. One spotted Brown doing laundry with a “limp” and bruises.

Police records showed multiple calls for domestic disturbances. Court records show friends and family told police that Brown said Jarosik beat her. She confided in one witness that if she died, “Paul did it,” records show.

Shaps retorted the state’s argument.

“This is a case of ‘no’s,’” he said.

Jarosik was not at home after leaving at 3:30 a.m. for his job at Sam’s Club.

“That is very, very important,” Shaps said. “No speculation, no theory is evidence in a case.”

Jarosik testified Thursday that he was broken-hearted after Brown’s death, according to lawyers. On Friday, prosecutors played his police interview they said contradicted many of the details he gave.

Why did prosecutors wait so long in the trial to play it, Shaps asked.

“No, Paul doesn’t know (what happened to Brown),” he said. “The state doesn’t know either. They can only speculate.”

There was “no proof ” she was dead before his 4 a.m. April 2 shift, the lawyer said. If her death was “instantaneous,” he would have had to be there. Brown had a “fatty” liver and alcohol in her system that didn’t cause her death but was a contributing factor, the lawyer said. If Jarosik had beat her, he would have had wounds on his hands, Shaps said.

“This isn’t a drama, this isn’t a play,” Shaps told jurors. “This is real life.”

Westberg later said in court that prosecutors felt Jarosik was lying to police and had no obligation to show the interview in court to prove the case.

Lake County Coroner’s office forensic pathologist Dr. Zhou Wang testified Thursday that Brown died — probably “instantly” — from a “serious injury” to her brain stem. Her brain didn’t show normal signs of healing, which led Wang to conclude she died shortly afterward.

Brown’s body had visible bruising around her eye and on her left buttock, but her autopsy revealed extensive internal injuries with deep confusions on her right torso. It was unlikely an actual weapon like a pipe or tool was used because there weren’t any imprints. It is possible she was beaten, Wang said.

She had alcohol in her system, but it wasn’t enough to kill her. Her BAC was .169, or twice the legal limit, according to court records. Brown also had no signs of diabetes or high blood pressure.

Brown’s family traveled from out of state for the trial. She “could fill a room with a laugh,” her sister Evette Beckman said on a court break.

They described Brown lovingly as “loud” and “very extra.” She kept the family connected and could be counted on to call at the “worst possible times,” Beckman said.

“I’d do anything (now) for a stupid phone call at the middle of the day,” she said.

Originally from Kansas, Brown loved fixing hair for at least 20 years. She could dye hair in every color in the book and once had her hair dyed green and yellow for her sons’ high school colors.

She had two sons, in their 20s, and loved her three nieces and one nephew.

“She’s missing a lot with these kids, the next generation growing up,” Beckman said.

Brown moved to the area around 2014 after a divorce. A hairdresser friend lived here. She had her problems like anyone else but “never met a stranger” and was “a kind soul,” Beckman said.

“She didn’t deserve what he did,” Beckman said.

After the verdict Beckman said the family was “relieved” and “thrilled.” Her sister was “such a beautiful person.”

“At the same time, it’s a devastating reason,” Beckman said. “I’m glad he wasn’t able to fool others.”

She and her mom planned to visit Brown in March 2020, but COVID hit. She never met Jarosik, and he told Beckman over Facebook that her sister had died.

Beckman said her mom died this May before she was able to see the verdict.

“I hope my sister has peace now,” Beckman said.