After nearly nine years of waiting, a Bridgeview jury is finally hearing the case prosecutors say left a well-known Cook County judge dead in front of his home. On Tuesday, jurors in the Fifth Municipal District courthouse listened as lawyers laid out dueling storylines in the killing of Cook County Associate Judge Raymond Myles, who was shot in April 2017. Friends, family and court staff packed the room for opening statements in what prosecutors describe as a planned robbery gone violently off script. The trial is expected to last about two weeks, and defendant Earl Wilson faces charges including murder and armed robbery.
Prosecutors’ opening
In opening statements, prosecutors told jurors they intend to show that Wilson and an accomplice watched Myles and his companion in the days leading up to the shooting, then returned early one morning to rob the woman of a gym bag, according to the Chicago Tribune. Assistant State’s Attorney Jennifer Keating, prosecutors say, argued the attackers believed Myles’ girlfriend kept cash in the bag and that Myles was shot when he confronted them outside the house. To avoid even the appearance of home-court advantage, a DuPage County judge is presiding instead of a Cook County judge.
What happened in 2017
On April 10, 2017, Myles, 66, was shot and killed outside his South Side home while his companion, Venita Parrish, was wounded in the leg and later needed a blood transfusion, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Police said a gunman confronted Parrish as she headed out to the gym that morning. Myles ran outside to intervene and was struck multiple times. The brazen attack on a sitting judge triggered a sprawling investigation that unfolded over months, with a series of arrests and charges following.
Defense message and co-defendant plea
Wilson’s defense team countered that the story jurors are hearing from prosecutors cannot be trusted and leans too heavily on a co-defendant’s plea deal, according to the Chicago Tribune. Assistant Public Defender Takenya Nixon argued that prosecutors are presenting an incomplete picture and pointed to family ties and other details she said cut against the idea that this was a straightforward robbery. Meanwhile, Joshua Smith, a co-defendant prosecutors have linked to the crime, pleaded guilty to an armed robbery charge in March 2024 and was later sentenced to 35 years, according to ABC7.
Evidence prosecutors say links people to the scene
Prosecutors say surveillance footage and neighborhood camera feeds were central to cracking the case. Reporting at the time described how investigators tracked a distinctive burnt-orange car to relatives of Smith, according to WBEZ. Prosecutors have also cited phone records and witness statements as key links in the chain of evidence they plan to lay out for jurors. In the coming days, the state is expected to call detectives, neighbors and Myles’ companion to walk the jury through the approach, the gunfire and the chaotic hours that followed.
Legal stakes
Wilson is charged with first-degree murder, armed robbery and related felonies, and earlier coverage notes that a conviction could mean life in prison. The case is being tried outside Cook County in an effort to reduce any perception of partiality, and jurors will be asked to weigh the state’s evidence against the defense’s attacks on witnesses, motives and the overall narrative.
The court has set a tight schedule, and every hearing day is drawing close attention from courthouse staff, legal observers and Myles’ family as the long-delayed testimony finally unfolds in public view.
