Chicago, Nov.07, 2004
NRI Press
Ashwani K. Shamlodhiya, 29 was working at Lucent Technologies in Naperville
before his arrest. If acquitted, he would have been deported back to
India after finishing a prison term for the residential arson. Jurors
did, though, convict Shamlodhiya of residential arson, which carries
a prison term of up to 15 years.
The second jury had the same evidence to consider, except members had
the added benefit of comparing Shamlodhiya's testimony with a transcript
of what he said during the earlier trial.
He did not vary from his earlier account that he had acted in self-defence.
The defendant claimed he killed 35-year-old Sichang "Michael"
Li early September 11, 2001, when the outraged landlord attacked him
with a hammer and knife after learning Shamlodhiya had an affair with
the man's wife.
Shamlodhiya also admitted igniting a fire within the home in what he
called a suicide attempt. He escaped when construction workers pulled
him out of a basement window after hearing his screams for help.
Prosecutors said the arson was an attempt to destroy evidence. They
portrayed Shamlodhiya as a cunning liar who killed his landlord either
out of jealousy or to silence Li about the affair, which might have
foiled his arranged marriage to a doctor in India.
Shamlodhiya admitted he originally lied to police by making up a bogus
intruder story. He even took police on a videotaped re-enactment in
which he calmly told detectives how a stranger attacked him.
The jury reviewed the video during its deliberations. It asked to again
see the transcript from Shamlodhiya's original testimony.
Wen "Susan" Li testified before the DuPage Circuit Judge
George Bakalis Friday that she began a sexual affair with Shamlodhiya
shortly after he moved into the couple's home.
Her testimony has provided the motive for the crime, prosecutors said,
according to a report in the Daily Herald, published from Chicago.
Li said she considered it a fun fling, but Shamlodhiya on one occasion
professed his love for her.
The wife said she didn't believe him and even told him that she knew
he planned to wed another woman in his native India.
"I just needed company," Li said. "(I was) just having
fun," the wife reportedly told the jury.
Shamlodhiya is facing murder charges for the Sept. 11, 2001, beating
to death of Sichang "Michael" Li in his home in West Chicago.
Firefighters discovered the 35-year-old man's badgered body in a basement
after extinguishing a fire. Prosecutors accused Shamlodhiya of igniting
the blaze that afternoon to cover up the murder.
The wife, who had been at work, testified that she had not told her
husband about the affair, but felt that he might have had suspicions
about it.