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Gena Shaughnessy


Inmate Name: Gena Shaughnessy Charge: First-degree murder, and solicitation to commit murder Sentence: 35 years Prison: Dwight Correctional Center, Illinois Gena Shaughnessy was born in Louisiana in 1968. She was the eldest of three daughters, and when she was three years old, her family moved to the working class neighborhood of Canaryville in Chicago. It was clear from an early age that Gena was cognitively impaired. Despite her difficulties, she graduated high school, married and had her first son, James. But her marriage ended in divorce. She then had a brief affair that left her with a daughter, Kimberly. In July, 1998, she met Rick Shaughnessy. Three months later she moved in with Rick who shared his house with his brother Michael. Six months after that, Gena and Rick got married. By 2002, Gena had two sons with Rick, making her a mother of four. But in March of 2003, tragedy struck when Gena’s 10-month-old son died in an accident. Gena was beside herself with grief and turned to alchohol and drugs. The Department of Child Family Services took Gena’s remaining children into their custody, and Rick and Gena filed for divorce. While in the process of divorcing her husband, Gena began dating his friend, 39-year-old James Gusich, who was awaiting trial on a burglary charge. Nonetheless, Gena felt she could open up to him. Gena soon moved in with James but continued to maintain contact with her husband Rick. On October 11, 2003 Gena was with Rick that evening delivering pizza. She claims she left him at 9:30 p.m. On October 12, police found Rick’s body in an alley. There were multiple stab wounds to the body. Gena was taken to the police department for questioning. After placing her under arrest, detectives returned to the house where she had been living, and arrested her boyfriend James Gusich. More than 30 hours after Gena’s arrest she signed a statement saying that she had stabbed Rick. But Gena later claimed she didn’t know what she was signing. She then gave a videotaped confession where she admitted to planning the murder, not actually murdering Rick. Both Gena and her boyfriend James were charged with first-degree murder. Gena was also charged with solicitation and conspiracy to commit murder. James changed his plea from not guilty to guilty and was offered a reduced charge of second-degree murder and a sentence of 20 years in prison. Gena was also offered a reduced sentence but she refused to plead guilty, claiming she had nothing to do with the murder. Her trial began on June 6, 2006. The jury found Gena guilty of first-degree murder and solicitation and was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Gena maintains her innocence and is continuing her appeal.