(Statement: I'm saddened for Maria and her family that there are no public pictures I have been able to find for Maria Djordjic's. Her tragic death should not be forgotten.)
Maria moved out of an apartment she shared with a girlfriend and made plans to move back in with her father in the fall of 1992. She was starting college near her father, and asked a couple to move in with them for a few weeks before moving back in with her father. Floyd and Susan Graf converted their den of their one bedroom condominium into a bedroom, and Maria paid $60 a week to stay there. The Graf's gave notice to the current tenant, Geno Macri to move out, because he did not pay the rent or cover his own expenses.
On Saturday, August 14, 1993, Floyd left the residence at 7:30 a.m. for work, and Susan left about noon with her three-year-old daughter, Marcie for a family birthday party. Maria was sleeping on the sofa bed. When Susan and Marcie returned that afternoon, they found Maria murdered, naked from the waist down, with her head covered with a pillow. There was no one else in the residence. Maria's purse, VCR and car were missing.
On June 10, 1994, Geno Macri was arrested for Maria's murder in New York City. During his interview, he admitted to killing Maria in a taped confession. On the day of Maria's murder, he was alone in the residence with Maria and found her sleeping on the sofa bed. She got up, took a shower, and dressed in green shorts and a top. Macri asked Maria if she wanted 'to fool around', which of course she declined. That made him upset, Macri went in to his bedroom and got a crowbar, went back to Maria where he found her sitting on the corner of the sofa bed, where he hit her over the head with the crowbar. She fell back on the bed and started bleeding. He jumped on top of her and repeatedly hit her in the head with the crowbar, as she tried to defend herself by lifting her hands and kicking at him. Eventually she stopped fighting, and stopped moving. He tried cleaning up the crime scene and did his laundry. While he was doing his laundry, he put a pillow over Maria's head, took off her shorts and raped her. He then took her car and other items including the VCR and some of his own items. He pawned the VCR in the near neighborhood, went back to the residence, took his laundry, packed his things, and drove Maria's car to New York City. Before leaving, he went to Maria's body, and raped her again.
Macri admitted to purchasing the crowbar for other assaults, to take women's purses or hitting a woman over the head. He planned to commit those attacks along the Illinois Prairie Path. He admitted to stealing Ohio plates to replace with Maria's plates. He admitted to attempting to sell her vehicle at six different car dealerships in New Jersey, but failed as he had no title. He instead sold parts of her vehicle. He attempted to use her ATM card, which also failed.
On August 19th, 1993, Maria's vehicle was located by the New York City Police, with the stolen Ohio plates. That vehicle was in a video footage with Macri driving it at the ATM using Maria's card.
In court, Macri's friend William Madalinski testified that he and another friend, Ernie Silvesteri went to that apartment to ask him if he wanted to play basketball. Between 12:20 p.m. and 12:45 p.m., they got to the residence, beeped the corn in the parking lot where Macri went to the window, and said he didn't want to go with them. Minutes later, he came to them outside and repeated he didn't want to go. In court, the Village Pawn & Jewelry in El Grove Village, IL employee testified that Macri pawned that VCR on the same day at 1:40 p.m., the day of Maria's murder. Another witness, a neighbor of the Graf's testified that about 2:00 p.m. the same day, she saw Macri drive Maria's car in to the lot. Another friend of Macri's, Tom Richardson testified that October 31, 1992, he visited Macri at the residence, where he told Richardson he was going to hit Mara over the head with a crowbar, rape her, and take off to New York City in her car. He even reported that Richardson that he would attack Maria when she exited the bathroom of the apartment, and showed Richardson the crowbar from where he kept it at his dresser, with one end of it wrapped in black electrical tape. Richardson admitted to not reporting this threat to Maria or the police believing that Macri was only joking.
Macri was found guilty and sentenced to death, as back in this era, Illinois had the Death Penalty. He lost his appeals. Illinois has since stopped the Death Penalty. He currently resides at the HILL CORRECTIONAL CENTER since 11/02/1995 and is ineligible for parole.
Information accumulated by:
Court records
Chicago Tribune
IDOC
We are also unable to find an obituary or her place of rest.
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