Pravin Varughese, The case that stumped a country (Part 1)

Maddi Petersen, a 16 year old junior in High School in Cartersville near Carbondale, never met Pravin Varughese. But the mystery surrounding his death attracted her and she decided to do a research on the subject for her English class, which resulted in a detailed report.

“It looks like she did a very good job researching on the case. It is one of the best reports on Pravin. It is amazing that a kid who never met Pravin is taking an interest in writing about him,” said Lovely Varughese, mother of Pravin, who continues her relentless fighting for justice.

Peterson looks for a career as a journalist.

Pravin’s first death anniversary is on February 13. The family has arranged for memorial services in Carbondale on the 13^th and in Morton Grove, Chicago on the 15^th at the Marthoma Church.

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Hometown Mysteries: Pravin Varughese, The case that stumped a country. 

Maddi Petersen

Imagine this, you’re at home; your baby boy is 325 miles away at college. You get a phone call or doorbell ring that no mother ever wants to get. “Hello. My name is Officer So-and-so; do you have a minute to talk? Are you sitting/please sit down, this may come as a shock to you. I regret to inform you that your son has gone missing without a trace.”

Well, this happened to Lovely Varughese in February of 2014. Her son was attending Southern Illinois University in Carbondale Illinois and she lived in Morton Grove, Illinois, 325 miles away. Pravin didn’t deserve the fate that he received…

“Pravin Varughese, age 19, was born to Lovely Varughese and Matthew Varughese in Evanston, Illinois on July 29th, 1994. He had an older sister, Pryia and a younger sister, Preethi” (Pravin Action Committee). 

“Pravin was huge into church; he took part in a very large youth group. They are all very family oriented, he called his parents every day. When he was still at home or when he visited, he would fall asleep with his head on his dad’s lap. Pravin and his family traveled everywhere together. He loved all of his family. He had a unique personality that began to show when he was very young. Everyone that met Pravin has some kind of memory of him being obnoxious just to make them laugh, that was his gift. He was capable of lighting up any conversation by his charismatic and easy going personality” (Zukas).

Pravin attended Niles West High School, from which he graduated in 2012. He was a member of several clubs, including but not limited to, Track and Cross Country and DECA (a business club.)

He worked for the local Carbondale Jimmy Johns when he was not at school. He decided to study at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, where, at the time of disappearance, he was a sophomore. He was studying Criminal Justice, in hopes of graduating and becoming a police officer.

Pravin mysteriously disappeared on the night of February 12, 2014. He had attended a party with friends at 606 W. College Street. He was supposed to be going to a bar, just 3 blocks away from the party to meet up with friends. However, he somehow ended up in the truck of Gaege Bethune on Illinois Route 13, just east of Carbondale. ‘At 12:33am, an Illinois State Trooper stopped to investigate a car ‘in distress’ on the shoulder of Illinois Route 13. The driver stated to the Illinois State Trooper that he was giving a black man a ride, asked him for gas money, and the passenger punched him, got out of the truck, and ran. The Trooper briefly searched the shoulder with his flashlight but found nothing.’ (Stafford). But, he found nothing. The Trooper noticed a mark on the driver’s face but did nothing about it.

There were several people who were involved in the case of Pravin Varughese. Pravin Varughese of Morton Grove, Illinois, whose life was cut way too short. Gage Bethune of Carbondale, Illinois, the driver who was the last one to see Varughese alive. The Illinois State Trooper, Trooper Martin, who stopped behind Bethune’s car and ‘conducted a search’ of the woods. The Carbondale Police Department, who ‘helped’ find Pravin and ‘handled’ the case. Also involved was the Illinois State Police, who also ‘handled’ the case.

Monica Zukas, a local radio show host is reporting the case to the general public.

The story of the death of Pravin Varughese is a mystery. Friends of the driver went to Carbondale Police department and spoke with detectives, telling them everything they had been told. After hearing this, the Police Department brought the driver in for questioning. They connected his stop on the side of the road with the missing student. It was only after this incident that Pravin’s body was found in a wooded area, just east of Buffalo Wild Wings and Kohl’s of Carbondale. The stories only came forth once the

News aired a broadcast, asking for anyone who had information regarding the case to please contact the Police Department.

Monica Zukas never knew this family, didn’t even know they existed, until she heard the story of Pravin. Monica is a local radio show host, who covers the controversial topics: corruption, misleading cases, mainly anything pertaining to the general public. She does not call herself a public figure, but some would say she is. She does not realize the impact she has on people’s lives. Monica at first did not want to get involved and could not get emotionally involved. She was already involved in the Molly Young case, but God put his works on her, and He had a plan for her to help this family out.     

Monica uploads her shows to Sound cloud, a website to upload music and voice clips. She has over 200 followers on this site and over 5,000 followers on Facebook. She maxed out the amount of followers on one page and had to create another. Her very first radio show on Pravin had over 52,000 listeners. Since then, she has done 8 radio shows on Pravin’s story. All of the shows have had between 1,000 and 35,000 listeners. She is reaching so many people, from all over the world! She has had Pravin’s mom on her show several times.

I recently got the amazing opportunity to interview Monica. She was very professional and helped clear up things that I had questions on. She knew exactly what she was talking about and gave great detail in her answers.

*In a disclaimer given by Monica, her comments are strictly her own opinions!*

Interview with Monica Zukas

If the driver told Trooper Martin that he had gotten into an argument with someone and the person ran into the woods, why didn’t Martin radio in for backup?

A: I think Trooper Martin is saying he didn’t do this, because he spoke to Gaege (the driver) and Gaege said he did not want to press any charges that is why he did not take any measures.

Why did it take so long for the dash cam video to be released?

A: They were trying to hide the fact that Trooper Martin had handled the case wrong.

Why didn’t the first autopsy “catch” the bruising?

A: We don’t know. It is part of the big mystery. Autopsy’s are like 2 different people vacuuming the same room, one may just vacuum the middle; whereas, another may go into complete detail and move everything and make sure there is no dirt left anywhere. Pathologist number one did not do a toxicology report on the fluid from the eye. Pathologist number two got to do the toxicology report and also got to look into the bruising on Pravin into more depth. He discovered that the defensive wound on the arm that the bruising went all the way through to the bone.

Why didn’t Trooper Martin file an incident report?

A: He did file a report, but it wasn’t generated until after Pravin was found.

If the driver had a noticeable mark on his face, why didn’t Martin conduct a search or call for backup?

A: It makes absolutely no sense…

Why did it take so long to find Pravin’s body?

A: They never put two-and-two together.

Was Jody O’Guinns (police chief of Carbondale) dismissal a coincidence?

A:  No, they thought that they were going to get everyone to be quiet about everything that was going on.

Why won’t Carbondale Police Department release their autopsy?

A: They are not releasing anything because it is an ongoing investigation. If the second autopsy had not been done, we would not know anything.

If they (The Police) called it a ‘drug case’ knowing it was so cold, why didn’t they conduct a search?

A: At the time, they didn’t know anyone was missing.

Why did Pravin’s family have their own autopsy performed and what were the findings?

A: Lovely noticed a mark on Pravin’s head, while they were still in Carbondale, but he was covered from neck down with a sheet when they transferred his body to Chicago for burial. The funeral director told Lovely ‘you need to go see your baby. He has injuries.’ They discovered that the cause of death was Blunt Force Trauma to the head. This would have disoriented Pravin, keeping him from getting out of the woods.

What are some things that you and Pravin’s family are doing to raise awareness to this investigation?

A: They went to Washington and met with several Congressmen. Also, we have held press conferences regarding the case, and I have held many radio shows on this investigation.

Why did you get involved and how? Do you think you can help shed light on the corruption in Carbondale, especially in the Police Department?

A: At first I didn’t want to and could not get emotionally involved, but then I started getting messages on Facebook and it reminded me so much of the Molly Young case. I had high hopes that they would get it right this time. The press conference infuriated me. They used phrases that were not even true! Phrases such as ‘recent acquaintance’ and ‘unfamiliar with the area.’ Pravin had lived here for almost a year and worked as a delivery boy for Jimmy Johns. I was at Larry Young’s house while I was watching the conference.

Do you think they will ever release the original autopsy report to the family?

A: Absolutely! They have to when the case is closed. It makes you wonder what they are hiding.

Are there laws prohibiting the release of the autopsy report?

A: I’m not sure, but it could possibly be a civil rights violation?

How many times have you spoken or met with Pravin’s family?

A: They have stayed with my family and I and I have stayed with them on several occasions. I’ve seen them in person at least a dozen times and lost count of how many times I have spoken with them.

Has there been a good response on your show to this topic?

A: Yeah! The second show there were 55,000 reviews. People from all over the world saw it.

Are there any new discoveries on this case?

A: People tag me in things on social media all the time and tell us things we don’t know.

Who do you think is at fault in Pravin’s death?

A: In this order, Gaege, Trooper Martin, Carbondale Police Department and Illinois State Police Department.

Do you think the outcome could of and would have been different had Trooper Martin conducted a more thorough search and or detained Gage that night?

A: 100%! They could have found him and he might have still been alive!

Why didn’t they ping Pravin’s phone?

A: I don’t know if they tried it and it didn’t work or what. I think his phone had probably died by the time that they did anything.

What do you think of Pravin’s last tweet?

A: He was just being a smart aleck, typical Pravin.

This interview was conducted on January 10th, 2015. (Zukas).

To be continued