A Lake County jury on Saturday found two Highland Park men, 23-year-old Nicholas Caban and 22-year-old Jacob Firestone, guilty of second-degree murder in the 2022 beating death of 45-year-old Matthew Ascaridis. The verdict capped a six-day trial over a brutal pre-dawn confrontation at Fort Sheridan Beach that left Ascaridis fatally injured.
The clash unfolded in the early hours of Sept. 17, 2022, when Ascaridis reportedly headed down to the Lake Michigan shoreline from his nearby home to confront people making noise. A Lake County coroner testified that Ascaridis suffered catastrophic spinal cord injuries that prosecutors compared to those seen in serious car crashes, according to the Daily Herald.
Witnesses and investigators told jurors that Ascaridis left his house to speak with a group at the beach and was later found dead near the shore. Officers responding to a related call at a Highland Park home soon after discovered Caban and Firestone there, both injured. Prosecutors argued that the men’s claims of self-defense did not line up with the physical evidence, pointing to DNA and medical findings presented at trial, as reported by FOX 32 Chicago.
What Prosecutors Told the Jury
Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said his office moved forward with the case after “the Major Crimes Task Force and Coroner’s pathologist uncovered conclusive evidence that Matt was killed due to excessive violence from these two offenders,” according to a statement his office provided to reporters. Prosecutors told jurors that the forensic record, including the coroner’s findings and DNA results, did not support the defendants’ version of events, the Daily Herald reported.
Sentencing and Next Steps
Caban and Firestone each face between four and 20 years in prison when they are sentenced. They are scheduled to return to court on June 18, according to FOX 32 Chicago. Prosecutors say the second-degree murder charge carries a maximum term of 20 years under state sentencing guidelines.
Remembering Matthew Ascaridis
Friends and neighbors have remembered Ascaridis as a father and local business owner. Local reporting noted he ran a financial-services firm and that a GoFundMe was created in the weeks after his death to support his family, according to Patch. The defendants are expected to be formally sentenced after their June hearing.
