Teen Guilty Plea in Murder of Chicago TV Host Garrard McClendon's Parents
NEW YORK (CBS/AP) Gregory Brooks, one of two teens charged with killing the parents of former Chicago television host Garrard McClendon, pleaded guilty Thursday to the 2009 murders.
Brooks, 19, was charged with murder, robbery, confinement, auto theft and burglary in the deaths of 76-year-old Ruby McClendon and 78-year-old Milton McClendon, who were found shot to death Oct. 19, 2009 in a Cook County Forest Preserve just outside Chicago.
The victims were the parents of former CLTV host and African American education advocate Garrard McClendon.
According to authorities, Brooks pleaded guilty to the murders of the Hammond, Ind. couple before Lake County Judge Clarence Murray, reports The Chicago Tribune.
Brooks and 18-year-old Reo Thompson are accused of robbing the elderly couple in their home, stealing their 1997 Cadillac Eldorado and then returning shortly after to "finish them," states a Chicago news Web site.
Court documents indicate that Brooks, Thompson and a third man barged into the McClendons' home and held them up at gunpoint, according to the site. Ruby McClendon allegedly told the assailants that she had $50 in her handbag, but the third man apparently wasn't content with that amount, Brooks told police.
Brooks told authorities that they forced Milton McClendon into an upstairs bedroom and physically assaulted him, and later tied up the couple and put them in a closet.
Police say the couple died of multiple gun shot wounds.
Brooks' sentencing is set for Nov. 10.MORE ON CRIMESIDER