|
|
Jury: Black Gary deviant guilty in brutal rape and murder of White woman who gave him a ride home
 Lake Superior Court jurors convicted a Gary man of felony murder and other charges in the beating death of a Griffith woman who befriended a stranger by giving him a ride home. Robert Lewis III, 40, was convicted of murder, murder in perpetration of criminal deviate conduct, criminal deviate conduct and resisting law enforcement in the beating and strangulation death of Jennifer Kocsis, 37. Kocsis paid the ultimate price for her willingness to help a stranger in need. At about 2 a.m. April 2, 2011, Kocsis and Lewis left Pepe’s Restaurant in Griffith, where Kocsis had gone to sing karaoke. Seven hours later, Kocsis’ badly beaten, partially clothed body was found behind the shuttered Riley School, 1301 E. 43rd Ave., Gary.
Lewis had propositioned women in the restaurant bar before he left with Kocsis, witnesses said. The attack began inside Kocsis’ Chevrolet Malibu — her broken glasses and blood were found inside the car. Legally blind in one eye, Kocsis got out of the car and was thrown up against it, based on evidence that included a piece of her tooth that adhered to the outside of her car. The assault continued, with her knees and hands scraped and cut as she fought for her life. Lewis is 6 foot 1 and 260 pounds, and Kocsis was 5 feet 5 and 133 pounds. A shoe print impression was left on her bloody arm. Evidence showed Lewis’ DNA was found on the steering wheel of Kocsis’ car, and his DNA was also present on an anal swab collected during her autopsy. - (Black-on-white) |