EDWARDSVILLE - The line of visitation mourners for Randy Gori of Edwardsville was steady from the outset at 2 p.m. Monday, Jan. 13, at St. Boniface Catholic Church in Edwardsville.

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The visitation ended at 8 p.m. and was moved to St. Boniface Church because of a large crowd of expected mourners.

Many in suits and ties and women in dresses came to the visitation from the Madison County Courthouse area and Downtown Edwardsville offices.

Gori was a highly successful attorney/real estate investor in the Edwardsville area. He died after a murder at his home in the 4500 block of Mooney Creek in Edwardsville right before 9 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 4. A St. Louis pharmacy student - Timothy Banowetz - has been charged with the murder.

Gori’s death has riveted the area. He contributed to an abundance of area charities and causes and was responsible for much of the growth in the Edwardsville region.

The funeral service and burial for Randy Gori are both private.

Madison County State's Attorney Tom Gibbons announced Monday he would attempt to get federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty for the three recent area murders.

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The U.S. Attorney's Office released a statement about the recent Madison County homicides today.

The statement was as follows: "The murder of Randy Gori was a senseless and brutal crime. We at the U.S. Attorney’s Office join the community in shock, grief, and outrage. Other area homicides described in recent media accounts also appear to be heinous acts of cruelty that demand justice. This office will promptly review any request we receive to open an investigation, but we cannot assess whether federal law has been violated until the facts from the investigations are presented to us. The federal government is a government of limited jurisdiction, and it does not possess general police powers. That is why nearly all homicide cases are prosecuted in state courts.

"Congress has, however, enacted at least 60 criminal statutes where murder or causing the death of another can be prosecuted federally. These laws generally fall into three categories.

"The first category includes statutes where federal jurisdiction is established based on the status of the perpetrator or the victim. For example, it is a federal crime to murder certain federal officials and officeholders.

"The second category includes statutes where federal jurisdiction is premised on the location of the death, such as murders that occur on federal land. The third category includes killings that occur during the commission of another federal offense, such as a murder committed during a bank robbery."

The statement continued: "Not all of these crimes are punishable by the death penalty. Nor does a homicide automatically become a death-eligible federal crime simply because someone crossed a state line. U.S. Attorneys must follow the federal death penalty protocol when they bring charges that carry the death penalty as a possible punishment. This procedure requires the case to be reviewed and evaluated by the Capital Case Section within the Criminal Division of the Justice Department in Washington, D.C. The process culminates in a decision by the Attorney General of the United States to seek or not to seek the death penalty against an individual defendant. Those decisions are based upon the specific facts and laws applicable to the case, with the goal of ensuring that the federal capital sentencing laws are applied consistently and fairly across the nation.

"We have a long history of working with our state and local law enforcement partners to achieve just outcomes in Southern Illinois, and we will continue to stand with the victims’ families, the police, and the Madison County State’s Attorney’s Office as the community seeks justice for these crimes."

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