| Belleville News-Democrat (Belleville, Ill.) Jul. 3--Missouri law enforcement officials have begun discussing whether to seek the death penalty for Nicholas T. Sheley, who was captured Tuesday night outside a Granite City bar after the FBI linked him to eight killings in Missouri and Northern Illinois. SAVE MONEY ON TRAVEL DEALS And one law professor says Sheley, accused of killing people ranging in age from 2 to 93, could be Exhibit A in support of capital punishment. Festus, Mo., Police Chief Tim Lewis said Wednesday he has had discussions with the prosecuting attorney in Jefferson County, Mo., about seeking the death penalty for Sheley. Lewis said he's "well aware" that the death penalty is allowed in Missouri, but not Illinois. Sheley may have killed six people in Illinois, which has a moratorium on the death penalty. Authorities say he killed two people in Missouri, which does put convicts to death. "We want justice. This was a brutal homicide", Lewis said. "We know he's probably never going to see the light of day, but we are going to apply for the death penalty." Lewis said Jefferson County prosecutors are open to seeking the death penalty, but they first want to see the police reports. Jefferson County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Steven Jerrell said, "We have to evaluate the case and get all the facts, then we'll make our decision." Bill Schroeder, a law professor at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, said Sheley could be "a one-man argument for the death penalty." "One of his victims was 2 years old", Schroeder said. "Good Lord." Media reports on Wednesday quoted police sources as saying Sheley used an ax in some of the killings, which authorities believe were fueled by an addiction to drugs, particularly meth. Sheley was transferred from the Granite City Jail to the Madison County Jail on Wednesday morning. Wearing an orange jumpsuit, handcuffs, shackles and a haggard look, Sheley did not respond to questions from reporters as he entered a police car, escorted by police officers on either side. At a court appearance in the afternoon via video feed from the county jail, Madison County Circuit Judge Edward Ferguson ordered that Sheley be held there until he is picked up by Knox County authorities. Ferguson read to Sheley a first-degree murder charge that has been filed against him in Knox County. Sheley looked down at times and, at one point, took a deep breath. Ferguson told Sheley his bail on the Knox County charge had been set at $1 million, and asked him whether he could post the required 10 percent in cash, or $100,000, for his release on bond. "No, sir", Sheley answered. "Nothing would have made us suspect that something like this would happen", said Ron Potthoff, chief of police in Sheley's hometown of Sterling, a city of 15,000 about 100 miles west of Chicago. "But ... he was becoming more and more noticeable to the officers." Police say they don't know what motivated the 28-year-old, and said one possibility is that he was on a drug-fueled rampage. William Monroe, an assistant special agent in charge of the FBI's Chicago field office, said he believes Sheley traveled last week to buy drugs in Chicago, where authorities recovered two handguns taken from the first man killed. The string of killings began with the beating death of 93-year-old Russell Reed, a Sterling man whose body was found stuffed in the trunk of a car June 26. Then, the other seven victims' bodies were found Monday. A child and three adults were discovered in an apartment in Rock Falls, in northwestern Illinois. They were identified by Whiteside County Coroner Joe McDonald as Kilynna Blake, 20, and Dayan Blake, 2, both of Cedar City, Utah, and Kenneth Ulve Jr., 25, and Brock Branson, 29, both of Rock Falls. All died from having their heads bludgeoned. Police say Sheley was acquainted with the two male victims. Also on Monday, 65-year-old Ronald Randall's body was found near a trash bin behind a grocery store in Galesburg, and Tom and Jill Estes of Sherwood, Ark., whose bodies were found behind a gas station in Festus, Mo. The couple had checked into a Comfort Inn in Festus on Friday and were last seen late Sunday. Their dogs were found in the hotel parking lot, unharmed but covered with blood. In each case, the victims' cars were taken after the killings, police said. On Tuesday morning, law enforcement officers searched an apartment complex on Vandalia Street in Collinsville, but police said Wednesday they doubt Sheley was ever in Collinsville. Later in the day, patrons and bartenders at Bindy's, 3705 Nameoki Road near the Granite City Kmart, recognized Sheley from newscasts when he came in, asked for a lighter, tried to use the phone, had a glass of water and was asked to smoke outside. He was in the bar about 10 minutes, witnesses said. Bar occupants called police, and a patron went outside to flag down a patrol car. Within minutes, police and FBI agents swarmed the bar parking lot. On Tuesday, Sheley was formally charged with the murder of Randall, in Knox County. Madison County Assistant State's Attorney John Fischer told Ferguson that Whiteside County prosecutors also have filed charges against Sheley, but they've agreed to let Knox County take Sheley first. In Whiteside County, Sheley has been charged with the murder of Reed. Charges have not yet been filed against Sheley in Missouri, and Lewis said there's no hurry to do so. "There's not any pressure for us to do something. He's already in custody and he's not going anywhere", Lewis said. Prosecutors in Knox and Whiteside counties could not be reached for comment. Schroeder, the law professor, said prosecutors in the three jurisdictions probably have a coordinated approach on when they'll get a crack at Sheley. He said if Knox County wins a conviction, Whiteside County might not continue prosecuting Sheley. "It's a murder case and they're expensive to try. In a small county, you'd be spending a lot of money on that trial", Schroeder said. "How many life sentences can you give him?" Jeffrey Urdangen, a Northwestern University law professor, said it's common for prosecutors in multijurisdictional cases to blend their strategies. "There's tactical reasons to do this, related to the quality of evidence", he said. Urdangen said Whiteside County prosecutors' decisions might depend on whether Sheley receives a death sentence in Knox County. "Illinois still has the death penalty, and prosecutors throughout the state are still seeking it", he said. "The moratorium simply relates to the carrying out of the execution." Public records show Sheley has multiple convictions for robbery, drugs and weapons charges and has spent three years in prison. Two of Sheley's family members also were being held in Whiteside County on charges connected to Reed's killing. Eric Smith, Sheley's cousin, was being held on $100,000 bond on an obstruction of justice charge. Sheley's brother Josh Sheley was being held on a $750,000 bond and was charged with concealing a homicidal death and obstructing justice, according to the state's attorney. Sheley's uncle, Joe Sheley, 47, of Sterling, said before his nephew's capture that Nicholas Sheley recently struggled with drugs and his rap sheet includes arrests for home invasion. Sheley served nearly three years for aggravated robbery between 2000 and 2003 and another 17 months on parole, which ended in April 2005, Illinois Department of Corrections spokesman Derek Schnapp said. Some information for this story was provided by Jim Suhr of the Associated Press.
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