Ayers

Eloise Popeil and Dan Ayers were charged in an information with conspiracy to commit murder and with soliciting one Donald Reed and Robert Peeler to commit murder. The objective of the conspiracy and the solicitation was the killing of Eloise’s estranged husband Samuel Popeil, a wealthy Chicago businessman.

After a trial which lasted over 60 days and produced testimony consuming some 5,000 pages of transcript, the jury returned a verdict finding Eloise guilty of the solicitation of Peeler, and Ayers guilty of the solicitation of both Reed and Peeler. Both defendants appeal the judgments of conviction.

At the outset we observe that in spite of the highly emotional tone of the case and the length of the trial, the record is remarkably free of error. Defendants do not challenge, the sufficiency of the evidence, which was indeed overwhelming, they only contend that the trial court erred in certain evidentiary rulings, in ordering discovery of certain matters in possession of the defense and that the prosecution was guilty of improper argument to the jury.

The Background

A contested divorce action between Eloise and Sam Popeil had been pending in the courts in Illinois…