A grieving mother says she received taunting text messages from her daughter’s alleged killer the day after the teen was brutally murdered.
Brenda O’Laughlin was called to the stand by prosecutors to testify in the case against John Wilson Jr., who stands accused of murdering her 14-year-old daughter, Kelli O’Laughlin, in October 2011.
O’Laughlin said in her testimony that she found her daughter in a pool of blood in the family’s kitchen when she returned home from work October 27, 2011. She quickly called 911 and tried, unsuccessfully, to administer CPR. Kelli O’Laughlin was taken to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead as a result of multiple stab wounds.
John O’Laughlin rushed to meet his wife at the hospital that day. The couple spent the night in a hotel room while police conducted an investigation in their Chicago-area home. The next morning, Brenda O’Laughlin went to get a manicure to keep her mind off her tragic loss.
“That's like her therapy,” John O’Laughlin told Fox 32. He waited for his in their car, outside the salon.
While at the salon, Brenda said she received the first text message from her daughter's alleged killer.
“Hello Brenda,” Brenda testified the first message read, according to the Huffington Post. The text came from her daughter’s phone.
“She wanted to tell you something before I killed her,” said the next message.
Brenda left the salon and joined her husband in their car. They immediately called the police, she testified.
At that point, she hadn’t replied to the texts.
Soon after, another message was sent, which read, “You've got two minutes to text me before I break the phone,” Brenda O’Laughlin testified.
“Who are you and what do you want?” the mother replied.
The answer was haunting.
“You will know soon when I come see you,” the text read.
Days later, police arrested Wilson in connection with the girl’s murder. Prosecutors claim phone records indicate that Wilson’s and Kelli’s phones were with the same person the day the text messages were sent. They also claim to have DNA evidence connecting Wilson to the crime scene.
Police believe Kelli was stabbed by John Wilson Jr. when she returned home from school and caught him robbing the house.
Wilson's attorney, Michelle Gonzalez, denies the claim.
“It wasn't him,” Gomez said in court. “There's a lot of evidence that shows it could have been anyone. And the police just focused in on him.”
On October 10, 2014, Wilson was found guilty of Kelli's murder and sentenced to 160 years in prison, according to ABC 7.
Sources: Fox-32, Huffington Post, ABC 7 / Photo Credit: Facebook: Justice for Kelly O’Laughlin