When a judge on Monday tossed out the conviction of a man who had been found guilty of murdering her son, Lovely Varughese said she was more puzzled than hurt.
“We saw this judge through the trial, how thorough he was, how strict he was with the prosecution,” Varughese said in a phone interview. “To hear this from him today was very surprising. We were very puzzled.”
Judge Mark Clarke presided over the two-week jury trial that ended in June with the first-degree murder conviction of Gaege Bethune, 24, for the February 2014 death of Southern Illinois University student Pravin Varughese, 19, of Morton Grove. Monday, Clarke set aside that verdict and ordered Bethune to be set free as he awaits a new trial.
Varughese, a Niles West High School graduate, died after what prosecutors contend was a drunken fight with Bethune while the two drove around Carbondale. After the fight, authorities say, Varughese wandered into a wooded area and died on a night when temperatures sunk into the single digits.

Clothed only in a shirt and jeans, his body was found five days later.
Bethune had been scheduled to be sentenced Monday afternoon. Instead, he was released after a morning hearing at which the judge announced his decision. Bethune’s father, Don Bethune, called the judge’s ruling “definitely a blessing” and said he’s hopeful for his son’s next trial.
Bethune’s attorney, Steve Greenberg, said the judge found that jurors may have been confused by instructions. But special prosecutor David Robinson said the judge’s decision was based on a “syntax problem” in the placement of the word “knowingly” in Bethune’s grand jury indictment on the charge.
Clarke’s written decision is expected Friday. He has not set a hearing date in the case.
Robinson, who said he was “a little blindsided” by the decision, added that he is “absolutely” appealing the judge’s ruling and will reprosecute Bethune.
Greenberg, who with colleague Liam Kelly took over the case this summer, said he also expects to retry the case.
“It’s not murder,” Greenberg said after the hearing. “I think it’s a drunken kid who ran off into the woods and made a big mistake.”
Lovely Varughese and her family had pushed for more answers after the original investigation concluded that no foul play had occurred and that Varughese died of hypothermia. The family ordered an independent autopsy, which yielded conclusions that conflicted with the coroner’s findings, and even sued Carbondale and its police chief.
The family was in court every day of the nearly two-week trial. Late on June 14, a Jackson County jury convicted Bethune of first-degree murder.
“When we started,” Lovely Varughese said on Monday, “we started with nothing, and we came so far.”
She and other family members drove about six hours to attend Monday’s court hearing, she said. Varughese estimated that 30 relatives and friends were in court with her.
“We were hoping this would be the last time, but I guess we’ll have to come back,” she said on the return drive home, “and we will be back.”
The Associated Press contributed.
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