St. Charles Township man accused of stabbing father 100 times deemed legally insane

Nov. 21--A clinical psychologist has ruled a St. Charles man who allegedly killed his father by stabbing him over 100 times outside their St. Charles Township house in 2017 was "legally insane" at the time.

John W. Shenko, 23, has been in the Kane County Jail on $2 million bond for charges of first-degree murder in the death of his 60-year-old father Kevin J. Shenko.

Shenko is autistic, bipolar and schizophrenic and was ruled unfit to stand trial after his arrest, according to Kane County court records.

He was sent to a mental health facility in Elgin for inpatient treatment for several months and was found fit to stand trial in March.

On Nov. 15, Shenko waived his right to a jury trial and elected a bench trial set for Jan. 3.

Brenda Willet, assistant public defender of Kane County, said Shenko may use a defense of insanity during the trial, court records show.

If the case goes to trial, Dr. Michael Oliverio, an expert in clinical psychology, could testify that in his opinion John Shenko was legally insane when he allegedly killed his father, Willett wrote in Oct. 26 filings.

A Kane County sheriff's deputy who arrived outside the Shenko house around 1 a.m.Aug. 13, 2017, on the 7N200 block of Longridge Road, saw the two men covered in blood and Shenko straddling his father's naked body repeating, "die, die, die, die, die," according to Kane County court records.

The deputy ordered Shenko to move and he said "I'm not getting off of him, you're going to have to shoot me," records show. Shenko was eventually handcuffed and when asked for his name and if anyone else was home, he said "My name is God. I killed Satan."

John Shenko's mother told police her son had a long history of mental illness and had been hospitalized for psychological reasons three times, Assistant State's Attorney Joe Cullen wrote in court documents.

If convicted, Shenko faces 20 to 60 years in prison. If ruled legally insane at the time of the murder, he could be sent to a mental health facility instead of a state prison.

mejones@chicagotribune.com

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