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After hung jury, second trial ends with guilty verdict in Davenport farm field murder

After the first jury could not reach a verdict, a Chicago man was found guilty of the first-degree murder of a man whose body was found in a Davenport field.

After the first jury could not reach a verdict, a Chicago man was found guilty of the first-degree murder of a man whose body was found in a field.

The body of 41-year-old Robby Kohn was found in a field near Utah Avenue and Telegraph Road in Davenport on Saturday, December 8, 2012.  Police said an allegedly intoxicated driver, with no connection to the case, had accidentally run over Kohn; but that Kohn’s body had actually been in the field for more than 24 hours before it was found.

Investigators later determined Kohn actually died December 6, 2012 from a single gunshot to the head.  His death was ruled a homicide. 

Police said Jessica Loerzel, 20, of Davenport and Barry Hamilton, 20, of Chicago, confessed to their involvement in Kohn’s death.

Police searched for several months before they captured 21-year-old Darius Johnson, also of Chicago, in connection with the case.  Davenport Police said U.S. Marshals arrested Johnson in Gary, Indiana.

Johnson’s first trial resulted in a mistrial when the jury was unable to agree on a verdict, according to Scott County Attorney Mike Walton.

The jury returned a guilty verdict for the charge of first-degree murder after Johnson’s second trial, which began April 7 and ended with the verdict delivered April 14, 2014.

First-degree murder carries a mandatory life sentence without parole, Walton said.

Johnson was scheduled to be sentenced May 14, 2014.

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