Jury Finds Man Guilty in 2019 Fatal Stabbing at Harrah’s Casino Hotel in Joliet

A Will County jury has found a 29-year-old Joliet man guilty in connection the brutal 2019 killing of a 76-year-old Wisconsin man in the hotel of Harrah’s Casino in Joliet. Robert Watson was found guilty on all four counts of First Degree Murder.

On March 24, 2019, Watson fatally stabbed Emanual Burgarino in the fifth-floor hallway of the Harrah’s Casino hotel. Burgarino had been stabbed 26 times and died from injuries sustained as a result of the multiple stab wounds. Burgarino had been carrying a large amount of cash, and evidence showed that he had been pepper sprayed before the violent attack.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 31. The sentencing range is 20 to 100 years to be served at 100 percent.