‘ JUSTICE’ IN DIXMOOR FIVE CASE
Five years after five wrongly convicted men were cleared of the 1991 rape and murder of teen Cateresa Matthews, prosecutors are expected to charge Willie Randolph with the notorious crime
She’s been waiting 25 years for justice
For Theresa Matthews, that day will come on Thursday.
She plans to sit in the front row of a courtroom in south suburban Markham where Willie Randolph, a career criminal accused of killing her teenage daughter, will appear before a judge for the first time in the notorious 1991 case.
“I want to be up front so I can see him,” Matthews said. “I want to see his face. I thank God that it’s happening, because I just want justice for my child. She had dreams. She wanted to be somebody in life.”
Her daughter, Cateresa Matthews, was just 14 when Randolph allegedly kidnapped her at a bus stop, drove her to a grassy area near Interstate 57, shot her in the mouth and left her dead.
Five innocent teenagers were originally convicted in a botched investiga- tion conducted by the Illinois State Police and Dixmoor Police. They all went to prison.
But two decades after Cateresa’s murder — in March 2011 — Randolph was identified as the alleged killer. Attorneys for the “Dixmoor Five” pushed for new DNA testing, and Randolph was linked to semen found on the girl’s body, court records show.
The Dixmoor Five were cleared in Cateresa’s killing. They sued and settled with the state for $ 40 million, considered a record for wrongful conviction cases in Illinois.
In 2014, the Cook County Sheriff’s office launched a re- investigation of the murder case, starting with the DNA evidence against Randolph. It took until now to obtain a murder charge against him because prosecutors demanded additional evidence. That includes details of the crime that Randolph allegedly revealed to witnesses during the sheriff’s probe, a law enforcement source said.
“It’s so rare that after these wrong-
MOM HOPES FOR LONG- DELAYED JUSTICE IN ‘ DIXMOOR FIVE’ CASE
• After Cateresa Matthews was murdered in 1991, five teens known as the ‘‘ Dixmoor Five’’ were convicted of the crime.
• In 2011, Willie Randolph was identified as the alleged killer.
• Attorneys for the Dixmoor Five pushed for DNA testing. They were cleared of the crime and won a $ 40 million settlement from the state.
• Randolph is to appear in court Thursday for Matthews’ murder. ful convictions that the true offender is found, that justice can occur after all these years,” said Cara Smith, policy chief for Sheriff Tom Dart.
Randolph is expected to appear at a bond hearing on a murder charge Thursday. He will be transported to court from Stateville Correctional Center, where he is serving a threeyear sentence for drug possession.
Randolph,. 58, has been in and out of prison for most of his adult life.
In 1977, he pleaded guilty to rape. At the time of Cateresa’s death in 1991, he was a 33- year- old on parole for armed robbery and living in her grandmother’s neighborhood in Dixmoor, a tiny village in the south suburbs.
Cateresa went missing on Nov. 19, 1991, after she called her mother from her grandmother’s home. Her routine was to have dinner with her grandmother after school, then take a bus home to the nearby city of Harvey.
Authorities believe Randolph kidnapped Cateresa while she was waiting for the bus. He allegedly drove her to the area near Interstate 57 where her body was found.
Cateresa’s body was discovered a few weeks later on Dec. 8, 1991.
For years, Cateresa’s mother was unable to visit her grave. Her grief sim- ply overwhelmed her.
“I started going out there this year,” Matthews said. “I talk to her and tell her we always loved our baby. I don’t know if I would have been a grandmother by now.”
Cateresa was a whiz at math and wanted to become an accountant. She was looking forward to her eighthgrade graduation, including the fancy clothes she planned to buy, the limousine she planned to ride in, and the pageantry of it all.
Now that Randolph is facing a murder charge in Cateresa’s killing, her mother plans to attend every one of his hearings — no matter how painful they will be.
“I have to do it for my daughter,” Matthews said. She’s done it before. More than two decades ago, she suffered through the trial of three of the Dixmoor Five defendants.
Two of the teens, Robert Veal and Shainne Sharp, agreed to testify against their codefendants, Robert Taylor, Jonathan Barr and James Harden, in exchange for reduced 20year sentences. Taylor, Barr and Harden all got more than 80 years in prison.
Taylor, Barr and Harden were freed from prison in November 2011. Veal and Sharp had already completed their sentences.
The wrongful conviction lawsuit on behalf of the Dixmoor Five claimed that police coerced a confession from Veal, who was 15 at the time of his arrest and had a low IQ. The lawsuit said Cook County prosecutors ignored major conflicts in statements the defendants gave about the crime.
“IT’S SO RARE THAT AFTER THESE WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS THAT THE TRUE OFFENDER IS FOUND, THAT JUSTICE CAN OCCUR AFTER ALL THESE YEARS.’’ CARA SMITH, policy chief for Sheriff Tom Dart