Testimony continues in Ware murder case

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Testimony continued Wednesday in the murder case against a Ware, Illinois, woman accused of killing her boyfriend's 4-year-old son.

Sacha Brown, 32, faces charges of murder, aggravated battery of a child under 13 and concealing a homicide in connection with the Dec. 11, 2011, death of Justin Hepburn.

In court Wednesday, Union County, Illinois, State's Attorney Tyler Edmonds played two videos of a visibly distraught Brown being interviewed by police.

In the initial interview, Brown gave a rough timeline of the events of Dec. 10, 2011; expressed a desire to know what had caused Justin's death; and gave a description of his occasional nighttime mischief, including instances in which he tried to cut his own hair and got into her daughter's makeup.

In the second video -- made after an autopsy revealed a 4 1/2-inch fracture in Justin's skull -- investigators could be seen asking Brown to sign a form waiving her Miranda rights before they questioned her.

During the ensuing interview, Illinois State Police Sgt. Nicholas Dill asked Brown what should happen to the person responsible for Justin's death.

"Like Chris [Hepburn, Justin's father] said, if there's somebody responsible, he'd put a bullet in their head," she told Dill. "I pretty much feel the same way."

Brown insisted upon her innocence as Dill asked her whether she had anything to do with the child's death or whether there was any reason someone might name her as a suspect.

Dill talked about the challenges and frustrations of raising children while working odd shifts on little sleep and suggested Brown might have hurt the boy without intending to kill him.

"You were either a bad person, and you went in there and purposely killed him, or you made a mistake," Dill said. "... We know you did this."

Brown stopped the interview.

"I guess if you guys are accusing me, I'll just get me a lawyer, because I didn't do this," she said.

Earlier in the interview, Brown -- responding to a question -- had said she was willing to take a lie-detector test.

In court Wednesday, Brown's attorney, Larry Karraker, asked Dill why he never followed up by administering such a test.

"Polygraphs are not admissible in court, and it was a question asked to see how she would answer," Dill said.

'Rambunctious'

Several other witnesses testified Wednesday, including Brown's father, Bobby Joe Jackson.

Jackson, who lives down the street from Brown, was among the first people at the scene the morning Justin's body was found.

Much of his testimony supported earlier descriptions of the position and condition of the body.

Jackson said his initial suspicion was that Justin had died of a concussion.

"I assumed it was an accident where he had fell and hit his head, because I had seen him be very rambunctious, and nobody tried to settle him down," he said.

Jackson said the last time he saw Justin alive -- about 3:30 p.m. Dec. 10 -- the boy seemed unusually tired, was quieter than usual and eventually fell asleep on his lap.

"He's usually a real rambunctious boy," Jackson said.

On cross-examination, Jackson said Justin and Brown appeared to have a good relationship.

Karraker asked Jackson whether he would be willing to lie under oath to protect Brown.

"If I thought my daughter had actually done something this heinous, I would've brung her in myself," Jackson said.

Last day

Sekara Zoromski and her father, Bruce Zoromski, spent several hours with Justin on Dec. 10, 2011, after Hepburn -- who was leaving for a business trip -- asked Sekara Zoromski to baby-sit the boy while Brown worked.

Testifying separately Wednesday, the Zoromskis gave similar accounts of the day, with one notable difference: While both said Justin liked to jump on the bed at Bruce Zoromski's house, Sekara Zoromski said she did not recall him doing so that day, although her father did.

"He was jumping up and down on the bed, and I told him he'd have to quit so he wouldn't get hurt and that, and he just quit and started watching cartoons," Bruce Zoromski said.

He said Justin did not suffer any type of injury that day.

Bruce Zoromski said the bed -- which was partially supported by concrete blocks -- was about 2 1/2 feet from the floor, which he and his daughter both described as a wood covered with carpet.

On cross-examination, Bruce Zoromski said the concrete blocks did not protrude past the mattress.

"They were pushed underneath the bed," he said. "They didn't stick out from underneath the bed."

'Look at her eyes'

Brown's attorney, Larry Karraker, made several efforts to impeach the Zoromskis' credibility Wednesday.

He repeatedly mentioned Sekara Zoromski's profession as a dancer at the Pink Pony nightclub in East Cape Girardeau and asked several questions about her personal life.

Among his concerns were why she did not have custody of her then-3-year-old daughter, who lived with her ex-husband in Wisconsin; whether she had been involved in a sexual relationship with Justin's father; and why she and her ex-husband did not have the same last name while they were married.

Sekara Zoromski appeared irritated by Karraker's questions at the time but parried them calmly, explaining she had chosen to keep her maiden name when she got married and had given her ex-husband custody of their daughter because he was in a better position to provide for her.

She dismissed Karraker's suggestion she had given up custody because having a little girl was "not convenient" with her "life as a stripper" or because she "didn't want to have the burden of [her] child."

"No. I just wanted to make sure she was taken care of, and I know my husband would be able to do it," Sekara Zoromski said.

She denied having a sexual relationship with Hepburn.

Karraker also called attention to Bruce Zoromski's criminal record -- which Bruce Zoromski acknowledged includes a 1970 armed robbery conviction, a firearm conviction from the early 1980s and a marijuana possession case from 13 or 14 years ago -- and accused both father and daughter of smoking marijuana before coming to court.

Ed Parkinson, an appellate prosecutor with the Illinois state's attorney's office who is assisting Edmonds in the case, scoffed at Karraker's claim he could smell marijuana smoke on Sekara Zoromski's clothes.

"That could be his own aftershave," Parkinson said.

Karraker retorted he didn't wear marijuana-scented aftershave and went on to suggest Sekara Zoromski should be tested for drugs.

"Look at her eyes," he said.

Later in the day, Karraker made a similar comment about Bruce Zoromski, saying his "eyes look[ed] a little funny," and he should be drug-tested.

Both Bruce and Sekara Zoromski -- who bear a noticeable family resemblance -- have heavy-lidded eyes that give them a sleepy appearance.

Neither of the Zoromskis seemed to be impaired or to have difficulty understanding the proceedings in the courtroom Wednesday.

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