Sentencing delayed for Joliet man convicted of 2009 murder
By BRIAN STANLEY bstanley@stmedianetwork.com May 23, 2012 4:06PM
Jason Orasco
Updated: July 3, 2012 9:03AM
JOLIET — Jason Orasco will have to wait another month to find out how much time he’ll spend behind bars for a home invasion that killed his best friend three years ago.
In February, Orasco, 27, was found guilty of murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery and home invasion for the July 7, 2009 attack. Joshua Terdic, 21, and his girlfriend, Lauren Vasilakis, then 19, were sleeping in their Channahon apartment when two men broke in, robbed them, tied them up and shot them both in the head. Vasilakis survived and was able to free herself and call police while Terdic later died from his injuries.
Vasilakis identified one of the intruders as their friend, and police arrested Orasco, his girlfriend, Ashley Hill, Matthew T. Edwards and Mary Vetor at Vetor’s house later that day.
Hill, 19, agreed to testify against the others in exchange for pleading guilty to home invasion and receiving an 11-year sentence. Vetor, 26, was convicted of the same charges Orasco was and received a 61-year sentence.
Edwards, 19, the alleged shooter, is expected to be tried this summer.
On Wednesday, Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak OK’d lawyer Michael Renzi’s request for Orasco to have more time to compose his sentencing statement, but the judge also allowed Vasilakis and Terdic’s relatives to testify how the crime impacted them.
Terdic’s mother, Karen Lee, recalled how Orasco frequently spent the night and shared meals at her house and exchanged Christmas gifts with her son.
“Josh would stick up for (Orasco) when people made fun of him and would find odd jobs for him to do around the house so he could get spending money when he didn’t have a job,” Lee said.
Vasilakis also spoke of how she is still haunted by their friend’s betrayal.
“How are you supposed to explain how it feels like for someone you’ve known half your life to try and kill you,” she asked. “Jason doesn’t understand he is the key to this entire thing.”
