Trial Date Set for Downers Grove Man Accused of Shooting, Killing Mother

A Downers Grove man who was charged with shooting and killing his mother outside of a Burr Ridge church in August 2013 will stand trial in February of 2017, the Daily Herald reports.

Michael Zaky Bassaly's trial was initially scheduled for Tuesday, but his lawyer, Marc Wolfe, asked for a setback earlier in the month when he learned one of his case's key witnesses would be unavailable in late September.

Bassaly is accused of shooting his mother, 61-year-old Yvonne Baky Bassaly, Aug. 29, 2013, around 1 a.m. in the parking lot of St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church. Police found her body in the backseat of a parked 2005 Cadillac.

Authorities say Homeland Security agents were closing in on Bassaly, a 30-year-old Egyptian immigrant, just two days before the murder, for fraud related to government asylum applications.

On the dashboard of her car, detectives found a sealed envelope with letters addressed to the FBI in which Michael Bassaly said he killed his mother "to protect her from the result of the investigation" and planned to take his own life.

When police checked Bassaly's home, they found several false identification documents, including passports, checks and business cards wrongly identifying him as a lawyer.

In a police interview, Bassaly said he planned to commit suicide because of the investigation and his mother wanted to die with him. Prosecutors said he told detectives they drove to the church parking lot to pray. At another point, he claimed the gun "went off," they said.

Wolfe has said he believes the victim killed herself while her son tried to stop her.

If he's convicted, Bassaly could face life in prison.