A man who prosecutors believe tracked his former girlfriend with a GPS device before slaying her in an office parking lot is pleading guilty at an abnormally early phase in his trial.
Dmitry Smirnov, a Canadian man who allegedly shot Jitka Vesel of Westmont, Illinois eleven times outside of her workplace, told the DuPage County court that he was ready to enter a guilty plea. Making such a public statement in court in such a high-profile case is very unusual.
“I advised him not to do this, but he doesn’t have to take my advice,” Assistant Public Defender Steve Dalton said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. "It’s quite early," Dalton added.
Even Judge Blanche Hill Fawell encouraged him to consider the plea. She delayed the hearing until Friday to allow prosecutors to discuss the development with the victim's family, but according to the suburban Chicago Daily Herald, she also told Smirnov, "I would really caution you to talk to your attorney — and ask any questions you have. Just so you understand, you have every right to change your mind."
In late March of this year, Smirnov, 20, came from British Columbia to Seattle, Washington to purchase a weapon, then drove to suburban Chicago to track the 36-year-old Vesel. He met her through an online dating service in 2008, when they dated briefly; the following year, she told authorities that he was threatening her.
According to investigators, Smirnov found Vesel's address on the internet, attached a GPS device to her car, and tracked her to the Oak Brook Office Court, where she worked at the Czechoslovak Society of America Fraternal Life. As she came out of her office, he apparently shot her.
The story gained political significance in Illinois because authorities claim that Smirnov's laptop showed that he had researched the death penalty laws in Illinois. Capital punishment had just been abolished in the state at the time, and DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin clearly felt that the change in laws played a part in his willingness to commit the crime.
“I do think there’s a good chance that if we still had the death penalty that this victim might still be alive. [Smirnov] might not have gone through with his plan,” Berlin told Rich Miller of the Capitol Fax blog at the time.
On Friday, Smirnov will likely plead guilty to one of the five counts of first-degree murder he is charged with. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.