The recent beating of a Springfield woman has the victim’s mother questioning how the Sangamon County Sheriff’s office handles criminal investigations.
Violet Procarione of Springfield says her daughter, Connie Procarione, 18, had been drinking, though she was underage, at a friend’s house on July 11 when she fell asleep on the couch and awoke to a series of punches from between one and three attackers. The beating resulted in a black eye, a knocked out tooth and a broken jaw that required a metal plate to be surgically implanted in her face. The incident allegedly resulted from a quarrelsome breakup.
“She’s just now able to eat solid foods again, more than a month after the attack,” Violet Procarione says of her daughter. “She’s been eating through a straw this whole time, and she still has to talk through her teeth.”
The Procariones reported the incident to the Sangamon County Sheriff’s office, but Violet Procarione says she was frustrated by a lack of progress in her daughter’s case.
“We knew who the attackers were,” she says. “I gave them names, descriptions, workplaces, what kind of cars they drive, all that stuff. They didn’t do anything with it, so I called Neil Williamson, and he basically said, ‘We don’t really do anything with assaults.’ He told me I needed to investigate it myself.”
A deputy who took Connie Procarione’s statement says in a case report that the case would be forwarded to the sheriff’s detective bureau and the Sangamon County State’s Attorney’s office, though Violet Procarione says the sheriff’s office didn’t pursue the case until a deputy saw Connie Procarione wearing a campaign T-shirt for Jeff Regan, Williamson’s Democratic opponent in the upcoming election.
On Aug. 13, the sheriff’s office arrested Stephanie Otken, 30, of Springfield, in connection with the case. Otken faces one charge of aggravated battery in the case, a class 3 felony that carries a prison sentence of between 2 and 10 years. A second alleged attacker has been questioned, but was not arrested, Williamson says.
Williamson says he did not tell Procarione that she would have to investigate the incident herself.
“I vaguely remember the conversation, but I think I told her (Violet Procarione) to take pictures of her daughter’s injuries, not to investigate it herself,” Williamson says. “The look of the face can change a lot after injuries like that, so I told her she needed to document it. We would never tell someone to investigate an incident themselves.”
Williamson says his deputies and detectives handled the case exceptionally well.
“In something like this, it’s usually a he-said-she-said type of thing, but the detective on the case was able to get her (the alleged attacker) to confess through his investigative techniques,” Williamson says. “In a perfect world, it (an arrest) would happen immediately or within a few days, but these things take time. People want immediate action, but we’ve only got nine detectives working on hundreds of cases. To get a confession and a warrant in a case like this is actually miraculous.”
Williamson has served four consecutive terms as Sangamon County Sheriff since he was elected to the post in 1994. He now faces Democrat Jeff Regan in the only contested countywide race this election.
Contact Patrick Yeagle at pyeagle@illinoistimes.com.
The Sheriff said: “I vaguely remember the conversation, but I think I told her (Violet Procarione) to take pictures of her daughter’s injuries, not to investigate it herself,” Williamson says. “The look of the face can change a lot after injuries like that, so I told her she needed to document it. We would never tell someone to investigate an incident themselves.”
I say: Is he on crack? Anyone who has ever watched more than two episodes of CSI understands the importance of photographs. However, they are virtually useless unless they accurately and objectively depict the scene. In this age of digital photogrpahy, where anyone with a cheap computer and 'Photoshop' can alter virutally any image, the accuracy and objectively of any photos taken by a victim can be easily challenged by a defense attorney.
The PROFESSIONAL approach would be to have an investigator take the photos. He/she will know how to properly do so, and the intergity of the prints will be protected.
However, given Williamson's lack of actual law enforcement training and experience, his statement is not surprising. Given his lack of credibility (i.e. documented false/misleading statements), I tend to believe Violet Procarione.
This November, Williamson is going to discover that many people feel the same way.
Connie is my cousin and I credit anything being done to those individuals to my Aunt Violet who didnt give up when no one else would do anything. Justice will be served and I hope they are in prison for a very long time for what they made my cousin go through.. love you connie and aunt violet.
Love, Amber
I happen to think that there is a little more to this story than little Connie Dearest is letting Mommy know. So seriously, what led up to this event??? It's never as simple as it's all her fault. Someone obviously provoked this "so-called" attacker, in my opinion.