Mokena Slaying: Teen Pleads Not Guilty in Half-Sister's Death

Chicago Tribune - A Mokena teenager accused of killing his 4-year-old half-sister pleaded not guilty Monday in a Will County courtroom.

Keith Randulich, 18, is charged in the May 22 death of his half sister, Sabrina Clement.

In a statement allegedly given to police, Randulich, who remains in jail in lieu of $10 million bail, said he took the girl to the basement in their home, then cut her throat with a steak knife and stabbed her. Family members were at the hearing Monday but declined to comment.

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No Abuse in Murder Case?

JOLIET -- Though Keith Randulich told police he slit his 4-year-old half sister's throat after failing to get a gun he could use to kill someone he believed was molesting the girl, authorities say there was no sign Sabrina Clement was the victim of sexual abuse.

Will County Coroner Patrick O'Neil, whose office performed an autopsy on Sabrina, said Monday there was no evidence she was molested.

"As part of the autopsy protocol, especially when under these particular circumstances, that was looked at very closely, and there's no evidence of any abuse along those lines," O'Neil said.

His office gathered evidence for a sexual assault kit, which the coroner gave to Mokena police for testing.

Randulich, 18, 19433 York Drive, pleaded innocent Monday in Will County Court to two counts of first-degree murder. He wore glasses and sat shackled with several other Will County Jail inmates after Judge Richard Schoenstedt called his case. Randulich remains in jail on $10 million bail.

Half Brother Admits Slitting 4-Year-Old Sister's Throat

Chicago Sun-Times: Four-year-old Sabrina Clement had to die, her 18-year-old half brother told police, because he couldn't get a gun to kill the person he believed was abusing the little girl, according to court documents filed recently.

"It was me," Keith Randulich told police in a soft voice when they showed up to the family's Mokena home on May 22 and found him covered in blood, according to a search warrant affidavit Mokena police filed on June 9.

Randulich also told police later that night that he wanted to kill a person he thought had been molesting Sabrina for two years.

He got a firearm owners I.D. card and asked his mother on May 22 to buy him a gun, according to the affidavit.

When she refused, she and her son argued, so she left her 16-year-old in charge of the little girl while she and her husband went to her 14-year-old son's school, it continued.

Randulich said that person was too big to kill without a gun, according to the affidavit.

So while his 16-year-old brother was upstairs playing a wrestling video game, Randulich decided to slit his sister's neck because he thought "it would be quick."

He called 911, saying he "murdered his sister with a knife."

Aside from physical evidence taken from the home, police also recovered video games, a bunch of heavy metal CDs, clown masks and a book titled "Children At Risk: What You Need to Know to Protect Your Children."

Randulich is awaiting trial in the Will County Adult Detention Facility in lieu of $10 million bail. His attorney could not be reached Wednesday for comment.

His case returns to court on Monday.