'Sexual' Remark to Teen Girl Led Brother to Bash in Neighbor's Skull: Prosecutor

JOLIET, IL — A Joliet man made a “sexual” remark to his 15-year-old next-door neighbor, prompting her older brother to bash his head in with a baseball bat, a Will County prosecutor said.

The brother, 17-year-old Amari Morgan, was charged as an adult with murdering his neighbor, 62-year-old Robert Bielec. Morgan’s brother, Blaique Morgan, 19, was also charged with Bielec’s murder.

Bielec had just pulled into the driveway of his Houston Avenue home shortly before 11 p.m. Thursday when the Morgan brothers walked up and confronted him about an “ongoing dispute,” said Assistant State’s Attorney John Connor.

During the ensuing argument, Bielec made a sexual remark about the Morgan’s little sister. Amari Morgan then swung a bat at Bielec’s head, killing him.

Bielec’s “skull was caved in,” Connor said.

Connor declined to specify what Bielec supposedly said to the teenage girl.

Bielec’s female roommate reportedly heard the commotion outside her home. When she went to see what was going on, she found Bielec dead in the driveway.

The bat remains missing, Connor said, but Blaique Morgan’s girlfriend told detectives where they could find his bloody shoes.

Amari Morgan appeared before Judge Bennett Braun for a bond hearing Monday. His brother briefly appeared at the same time via closed circuit television broadcast from the Will County jail. During the hearing, Blaique Morgan called out to his brother, “Hey Amari, I love you.” He was reprimanded by Judge Braun, taken off the screen, and returned for his own hearing after his brother’s was finished.

Another of the Morgan’s sisters, Angelique Morgan, 20, shouted from the gallery, “We love you Amari, we here for you, you innocent, you ain’t nothing but liars.”

The judge called Angelique Morgan up to the bench, offered her a tissue and told her not to shout in court again.

Braun set Amari Morgan’s bond at $1.5 million. Blaique Morgan’s bond had already been set at $1.5 million during a Saturday court appearance.

Amari Morgan will be held at River Valley Juvenile Detention Center until he turns 18, if he is not first released.

In February, Blaique Morgan was charged with attacking two Joliet police officers. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of battery. A felony charge of aggravated battery to a police officer was dismissed.