Accused Loyola Killer Appears in Court From Hospital Bed as Case Is Pushed to September

Jose Medina-Medina, the Venezuelan national charged with murdering 18-year-old Loyola University freshman Sheridan Gorman, did not show up in person for his Monday hearing in Cook County. He joined by Zoom from a hospital bed instead, according to Fox News.

His defense attorney told the judge Medina was admitted to the hospital after suffering a seizure over the weekend. That attorney said the defense team is still waiting on more information about his medical condition before it decides which pretrial motions to file.

The judge didn't let it slide without a condition. Medina was ordered to appear in person at his next hearing if he's physically able to do so.

This isn't the first time Medina's health has become part of the case. Defense attorneys have argued repeatedly that he suffers seizures and other lasting issues from a 2018 shooting in Colombia, where they say he took a bullet to the head. A jail photo obtained by Fox News shows a visible head injury.

Retired NYPD inspector Paul Mauro raised doubts about how the health defense is being used, telling Fox News' "The Story" that the circumstances around Medina's remote appearance deserve scrutiny. The timing of a seizure on a court date, paired with a documented old injury, raises questions the court will need to sort out.

On the evidence side, prosecutors said the case keeps moving. They've now turned over most of the DNA testing completed on the firearm recovered from the scene, according to Fox News. Trace evidence testing is still underway, and prosecutors said they may seek additional DNA analysis depending on what that testing shows.

There's a second case against Medina running alongside the murder charge. He's also accused of possessing a homemade shank while in custody. Prosecutors said they've handed over more evidence in that case too, but they're still waiting on subpoenaed body-camera footage and hospital surveillance video.

Both matters were continued to September 3 for another status hearing.

Gorman's family did not attend Monday's hearing. Her parents and sister, Madelon, Tom, and Jess Gorman, have spoken publicly about her death on Fox News' "The Story," describing the loss of their daughter and sister.

Gorman, a freshman at Loyola, was fatally shot in March while walking with friends near Tobey Prinz Beach in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood. Medina has been in custody since his March arrest and has pleaded not guilty to the murder charge.

The case sits inside a broader argument playing out nationally over how local and federal authorities handle undocumented immigrants charged with violent crimes. Separately, in Idaho, DHS Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said this week that ICE is working with local police to keep Jose Lozano-Flores, a previously deported Mexican national now charged with kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl at a Star, Idaho park, from being released from jail, according to The Daily Wire. DHS said Lozano-Flores was caught crossing into New Mexico in 2023, agreed to voluntary return, then re-entered undetected before the July 22 attack.

Neither case is resolved. Medina has not been convicted of anything; he faces trial on a not-guilty plea, and his defense is still building around his medical history. Lozano-Flores likewise has only been charged, not convicted, and the Ada County Jail has not indicated whether ICE detainers will be honored before any state proceedings conclude.

The Gorman case still awaits clarity on whether the completed firearm DNA testing ties Medina to the weapon used, and what the trace evidence still being processed will show. Answers may come closer to the September 3 status hearing, and possibly not until motions are filed once the defense finishes reviewing his medical records.