Mario Casicaro, whose 2013 conviction in the murder of Brian Carrick was overturned, is now attending law school.

A certificate of innocence for Mario Casciaro, stemming from a murder conviction and 26-year sentence being overturned last year, has been delayed by McHenry County Judge Sharon Prather with the matter continued to a Nov. 18 hearing.

The date also ensures that any resolution of the matter will come after the Nov. 8 general election, when a new county state’s attorney will be elected.

Democratic candidate Ray Flavin, a Woodstock attorney, and the Republican candidate, Patrick Kenneally, a first assistant state’s attorney with the county office, are both vying for the vacated seat held by the county’s State’s Attorney, Lou Bianchi, who chose not to seek re-election.

The case involved 17-year old Brian Carrick, whose body has never been found and was last seen entering the Val’s Foods in Johnsburg, for a work shift. The 2002 disappearance sparked a nationwide search, eventually centering on Casciaro, a store manager whose family co-owned the business, through the testimony of another employee, Shane Lamb.

Brian Carrick, a 17-year old Johnsburg resident, was last seen in 2002, entering the Val’s Foods for a work shift.

Lamb admitted to accidentally killing the teen by striking him after a confrontation, at Casciaro’s instruction, regarding money owed for marijuana sales. Carrick’s head struck the floor of a produce cooler, with Lamb and Robert Renteria present, and all three were store employees under Casciaro. Lamb was granted immunity, and stated Casciaro disposed of the body.

Under McHenry County State’s Attorney Lou Bianchi’s office, Casciaro was first charged with perjury to the Grand Jury, but later acquitted, and a subsequent trial ended with a hung jury. In 2013, a second trial resulted in the conviction using the statute of “murder by intimidation.”

A McHenry County Second District Appellate Court overturned the sentence in September 2015, with Judge Kathryn Zenoff stating in her ruling that, “… evidence (is) so lacking and improbable that the state failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Lead prosecutor Michael Combs forwarded the matter to the Illinois Supreme Court for redress, and the chief justices refused to hear the case. Lamb subsequently recanted his testimony, stating it was coerced by Combs, and is now serving a sentence for a robbery and gun theft. Allegations of another store employee, Ron Render, having involvement in the Carrick case has never been proven.

Casciaro’s defense attorneys have asserted that Render, now deceased, was involved in the death and disappearance of Carrick. Blood and material evidence that were found at the scene, and in his garbage, were never tested for DNA residue. The appellate court ruling addressed the DNA evidence by establishing a profile for Carrick, identifying blood at the scene as his, and another person.

In part, “The crime laboratory established a DNA profile for Carrick. That profile matched the blood spatter found on the north wall of the hallway, between the tool room and the produce cooler. Carrick’s blood was also on the bottom of the interior of the produce cooler’s door, on the leg of the metal rack, on the celery boxes in the cooler, and on some of the cardboard from the dumpster.

“The droplet of blood on the floor of the produce cooler was also Carrick’s. There was blood from a second person on the produce cooler’s door jamb, on the southeast exit door, and in the bloody fingerprint on the produce cooler’s door handle. The second person was identified through DNA analysis as Robert Render.”

At the time of his release, Casciaro said, “It’s been a difficult period, especially on my family. I was in a concrete box, when the call came about the appellate court decision. It’s not until you’re actually outside (prison walls), and smelling fresh air, that you realize … it is true.”

Casciaro initiated legal studies, while incarcerated, and successfully passed the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) last fall, and is presently eight weeks into courses at the Chicago Loyola School of Law.

His family currently operates the Val’s Fresh Market in nearby Fox Lake, and in Woodstock. “We’re extremely happy that he’s been able to integrate himself back into the community, and able to attend law school,” said Eugene Casciaro, a family member. “Overall, we’re just glad he’s home.”

Flavin and Kenneally did not respond to requests for comment.