Sheley indicted in Whiteside

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MORRISON - Twenty-eight-year-old Nicholas T. Sheley was indicted in Whiteside County on 10 counts of first-degree murder and four other felonies in the death of a 93-year-old rural Sterling man, the first of eight people he is accused of beating to death in a six-day, two state rampage. Sheley also was indicted on three counts of home invasion 2 weeks earlier involving a 90-year-old Sterling woman.

Bond was set at $10 million and $2 million respectively.

The grand jury handed down the indictments Thursday in Whiteside County Court. They were released Friday.

Sheley, of Sterling, is charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder, and home invasion, armed robbery and robbery in the June 23 death of Russell R. Reed, 16664 Blue Goose Road.

That indictment supersedes five first-degree murder charges filed by Whiteside County State's Attorney Gary Spencer.

The prosecutor has not yet decided whether he will seek the death penalty.

According to the indictment, Sheley allegedly entered Reed's home, stole his wallet and checkbook and beat Reed in the head, neck and shoulders with a blunt instrument.

Sheriff Roger Schipper has said the weapon was a metal weathervane.

Sheley then allegedly stuffed Reed into the trunk of his own 2003 Buick Century, then called his brother Joshua Sheley, 30, the next day, to help him hide the body, the indictment said.

Joshua Sheley allegedly called his girlfriend, Jenna Henson, 20, and asked if he could park the Buick in her driveway on Griswold Avenue. It was found there June 26, with Reed's body still in the trunk.

In the June 14 incident, Nicholas Sheley allegedly pushed his way into the woman's home, threatened her and demanded a credit card and personal checks. That indictment charges him with home invasion, residential burglary and robbery.

Nicholas Sheley is still under investigation for the murders of Brock Branson, 29; Kenneth Ulve, 25, both of Rock Falls; Kilynna Blake, 29; and her son Dayan Blake, 2, both of Cedar City, Utah. The four were found bludgeoned to death in a Rock Falls apartment June 30, Illinois Attorney General spokeswoman Natalie Bauer said. Her office is aiding in Sheley's prosecution.

"We're in the process of conducting and aggressive investigation in the Rock Falls murders," Bauer said. "A charging decision will be made at the end of that process."

It has not been determined when Sheley will appear in Whiteside County court on the Reed and home invasion charges, she said.

He also has been indicted in Knox County on 10 counts of first-degree murder and seven other felonies in the beating death of Ronald Randall, 65, of Galesburg.

He also is charged with five counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Jill and Tom Estes, both 54, an Arkansas couple killed late June 29 or early June 30 in Festus, Mo.

Grand jury proceedings are not open to the public. A grand jury has investigative powers, and can call witnesses and consider evidence. Its purpose is to determine the probability that a crime was a committed; that the accused person did it; and that he or she should be tried. It does not determine guilt or innocence.

Indictments handed down by a grand jury often are considered more weighty than charges levied by a state's attorney alone.

Multiple charges outlining various circumstances of the same crime - in this case, multiple counts of first-degree murder in one death - give jurors options when determining what, if any, elements of a crime have been proven, which affects sentencing.

A Whiteside County grand jury indicted Nicholas T. Sheley in the June 23 beating death of Russell R. Reed, 93, of rural Sterling, and the June 14 robbery of a 90-year-old Sterling woman.

Briefly, Sheley is charged with: