Trial under way in Seneca deaths

OTTAWA (AP) — A trial is under way in north-central Illinois for a Seneca man accused of beating an elderly couple to death during an interrupted burglary.

Forty-four-year-old Keith Mackowiak is charged with first-degree murder in the 2007 deaths of 87-year-old Catherine and 84-year-old Aloysius Twardowski.

LaSalle County prosecutor Brian Towne says Catherine Twardowski suffered a single blow to the head with a shovel and Mackowiak also attacked her husband with the shovel and used a hammer after the shovel broke.

But defense attorney Gerald Kielian argues that the case isn't a "slam dunk." He contends Mackowiak's reported confession was based on information fed to him during hours of interrogation.

Jurors heard opening statements Tuesday, and Towne says the trial could last up to three weeks.