A police commander in Chicago went around prosecutors to approve murder charges in order to keep a man behind bars. The man in question allegedly admitted to murdering a person with a hammer, per law enforcement sources and legal records, as CWB Chicago reported.
The state’s attorney’s felony review division “was going with possible self-defense but they wanted the hammer processed to find [Stamps’] prints or DNA even though he admitted to killing the guy with [the] hammer,” a source told the outlet. “They’re just looking for any reason to deny charges.”
The alleged assailant is Gregory Stamps, who allegedly met David Castile (42) at an LGBTQ bar, who then said he could give Stamps a ride home.
“The medical examiner said there were 20 to 30 skull defects,” Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy told Judge Kelly McCarthy on Tuesday afternoon, per CWB. “That’s 20 to 30 shots to the head that this defendant gave over and over and over again with that hammer.”
On Sunday morning, Stamps allegedly hit Castile in the head 20 to 30 times with a hammer in his bedroom, and proceeded to haul his naked body down multiple flights of stairs and outside to the alley, per Murphy. He then allegedly threw the victim’s clothing in a dumpster and returned, but never dialed 911, Murphy said.
A witness saw Stamps walking in the hall and then spotted blood going towards the back door. The person called 911 “several times” and waited for law enforcement.
When the police arrived, they found Castile, who was still barely alive and they “tried lifesaving measures,” per Murphy, but Castile later died at the University of Chicago Hospital.
Investigators came into contact with Stamps in the hallway of the first floor early Sunday morning. They noticed he had blood on his hand, clothing, and shoe, per Murphy. They detained him and allegedly discovered he had Castile’s wallet in his pocket.
He was questioned about why he had blood all over him, and he allegedly responded by saying that he had fallen down the stairs and landed in it. However, a few minutes later, he changed his story, allegedly telling the officers he was going to “be honest,” claiming, “He was just trying to rape me.”
Law enforcement read him his Miranda rights, but he continued to talk and reportedly again said he killed Castile with a hammer and explained it had taken place in his bedroom. The officers’ body cameras reportedly recorded what he said.
The police went to the bedroom, and allegedly discovered walls with blood on them, blood on a mattress, and a hammer, seeming to back up Stamps’ own story.
Murphy claimed that Stamps told law enforcement he “beat [Castile’s] a**,” and was hoping that Castile had died. However, he had no reason for why he had Castile’s wallet, or why he took the victim’s body outside, or why he threw Castile’s clothing in the garbage, Murphy added.
Murphy said the injuries on the victim show “That is not self-defense. That is first-degree murder. And I would point out there are no injuries on this defendant. None.”
“He doesn’t call police. Doesn’t call 911. What he does is he tries to get rid of the body,” Murphy continued. “The first thing he says is ‘I fell down the stairs,’ not ‘he tried to rape me.’”
Court records reportedly show that Detective Commander Brown approved murder charges that prosecutors wouldn’t sign off on as Stamps neared his 44th hour in police custody. Police typically have 48 hours to bring charges against someone after he or she is arrested. If they fail to do so, that person is let go.
Stamps’ defense attorney noted that self-defense might be a potential route against the murder allegation, per CWB.
Judge McCarthy had ordered Stamps to be detained without bail. The Illinois Department of Corrections is reportedly considering his parole status, per court records.
Stamps has a criminal record. He was on parole since May 2018 after serving a little more than five years of his six-year sentence for attempted murder, along with a three-year sentence for domestic battery. According to Murphy, he also said that crime was done in self-defense, but later pleaded guilty to stabbing the person.
Stamps was also arrested last month at a nightclub. He allegedly assaulting a bouncer after threatening an ex-boyfriend, and was issued charges of misdemeanor counts of battery and assault.