Three women and a man accused of murder appeared in court Tuesday to face new charges stemming from the shooting death of their alleged accomplice during what police said was a failed Palos Township home-invasion robbery attempt.
The four co-defendants — Tyler Gulli, 23, of Portage, Ind.; Sarah Risner, 21, of Crown Point, Ind.; Paige Marshall, 20, of Hobart, Ind.; and her sister, Brandy Marshall, 19, of Crown Point, Ind., although public records show her living in Lynwood and Dyer, Ind. — each were indicted Friday on three counts of murder, one count of attempted armed robbery, one count of home invasion and two counts of residential burglary, according to Cook County court records. They were originally charged with only one count of murder and home invasion, prosecutors said.
Gulli, who appeared in Bridgeview court Tuesday in a wheelchair, was wounded when a Palos Township homeowner shot him in the leg and another accomplice, Anthony Dalton, 19, of Cedar Lake, Ind., in the chest, prosecutors said. Dalton was killed in the shooting.
The three women, who did not face Cook County Judge Peter Felice on Tuesday, were in the process of being transferred to the Bridgeview courthouse when their attorneys appeared in court for them, prosecutors said.
The five conspired to rob the man, whom had exchanged money for sex with one of the women before in his home in the area of Will-Cook Road and 118th Street, where the shooting took place, prosecutors said. The woman had “engaged in oral sex for money” with the victim twice before the July 5 incident.
All four are being held liable for Dalton’s death because it happened while they were in the process of committing a crime, prosecutors said. They are being held on $2 million bail each.
Brandy Marshall twice before met with the victim at his home for sex and conspired with her sister, Risner and Gulli to rob the home on the next visit, prosecutors said.
The plan was for Brandy Marshall and Risner to meet with the man inside his home and open the door for the others to enter, prosecutors said.
But the scheme started to fall apart when Risner, according to prosecutors, told the man she needed to get condoms from the car and was unable to unlock the door by herself. When the victim went to help Risner, he noticed one of the assailants crouched near a planter outside his home and ran to the kitchen to retrieve his gun. All five people were standing in his foyer when he returned, prosecutors said.
The victim then shot Dalton and Gulli, who were both armed with knives, prosecutors said. Dalton suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead shortly after 11 p.m. at Palos Community Hospital, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office. Gulli was treated at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn after he was shot in the leg.
Gulli, Risner and Brandy Marshall fled in the car they had driven to the home after the shooting, prosecutors said. Paige Marshall stayed behind outside the house and provided information to police when they arrested her. Gulli was dropped off at a local hospital by the other defendants.
The homeowner, who has a valid firearm owner identification card, was not charged in the incident.
The four suspects are due back in court on Aug. 11.
Nick Swedberg is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.