Lockport, Illinois – A man accused of the 2020 murders of a Lockport woman and her 1-year-old daughter will face a jury trial starting in September, according to court records in Will County. Anthony Maggio, 29, from Crestwood, is facing multiple charges of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Ashtin Eaton, 32, and Hazel Bryant, aged 1, back in October 2020.
The charges against Maggio were filed in December 2022, two years after the tragic killings. Maggio, who is reported to be Bryant’s father and Eaton’s ex-boyfriend, has been in custody since 2022 with a bond set at $10 million. Lockport Police devoted two years to investigating the deaths, sifting through over 100 pieces of physical evidence and following numerous leads that eventually led to Maggio being identified as a suspect in the homicides.
According to the criminal complaint, on October 2, 2020, Maggio is alleged to have intended to harm or kill Ashtin Eaton by strangling her, resulting in her death. In Hazel Bryant’s case, Maggio is accused of smothering the young child to death on the same date. Despite his lawyer’s argument last year for Maggio’s release from custody pending trial, stating the lack of direct evidence linking him to the crimes and his absence of violence history, Maggio remains detained at Will County Jail as of April 29.
A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for August 1 at 9:30 a.m., followed by the jury trial beginning on September 30 at the same time, as per court records. The upcoming trial will determine Maggio’s fate in relation to the tragic deaths of Ashtin Eaton and Hazel Bryant, shedding light on the events that rocked the Lockport community back in 2020.