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Thread: Nicholas T. Sheley Sentenced to LWOP in 2008 MO Slayings of Jill and Tom Estes

  1. #21
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    Nicholas Sheley trial jury selection begins Monday

    MORRISON, Ill. (AP) - The next trial of a man accused of killing eight people in two states is slated to begin.

    Jury selection starts Monday in the trial of Nicholas Sheley. Testimony begins next week.

    Sheley is accused of killing eight people in Illinois and Missouri over several days in June 2008.

    In this trial, Sheley has pleaded not guilty in the slaying of 93-year-old Russell Reed of Sterling. He's already been convicted in the murder of a 65-year-old Galesburg man, and he faces trials in the deaths of six others.

    The proceedings are also the first big test of Illinois' experiment with cameras in the courtroom. Cameras have been approved in Whiteside County, and other counties will be watching closely to see how it works.

    http://www.ksdk.com/news/article/344...-begins-Monday

  2. #22
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    Sheley's third trial expected to begin in May

    By Tara Becker
    The Quad-City Times

    The third murder trial for convicted killer Nicholas T. Sheley is on track to open in May, attorneys said Wednesday.

    During a short pretrial conference in Rock Island, defense attorney Jeremy Karlin said his Missouri-based DNA expert should have her findings available by the April 9 deadline set by Judge Jeffrey O'Connor.

    "I regard that as very good news,"O'Connor said.

    Sheley, 34, will be back in court April 29 for a final pretrial conference. Jury questionnaires will be handed out to jurors to fill out on May 9 and selection will begin May 12.

    Sheley is charged with 15 counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Brock Branson, 29; his fiancee, Kilynna Blake, 20; her 2-year son, Dayan; and Kenneth Ulve, 25.

    Prosecutors say the four were killed in their Rock Falls, Ill., apartment on June 28, 2008. Their bodies were discovered two days later.

    Sheley already is serving life without parole in the deaths of Russell Reed, 93, of rural Sterling, and Ronald Randall, 65, of Galesburg.

    He will be tried last in the deaths of Jill and Tom Estes of Sherwood, Ark., in Missouri, where he could face the death penalty.

    http://qctimes.com/news/local/crime-...9b950d635.html

  3. #23
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    Extra security precautions taken for Sheley trial

    The case of twice-convicted killer Nicholas T. Sheley is certainly one of the more unique and notorious cases ever to come to Rock Island County, Sheriff Jeff Boyd says.

    “He’s definitely high-risk,” Boyd said last week in an interview with the Quad-City Times. “The good news is, we have a protocol that we use to deal with high-risk people."

    Jury selection to find 12 jurors and four alternates for the 34-year-old Sterling, Ill., man’s third trial, transferred to Rock Island from Whiteside County, begins Monday.

    Sheley, 34, is charged with 15 counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Brock Branson, 29, Kilynna Blake, 20, her 2-year-old son Dayan, and Kenneth Ulve, 25.

    Prosecutors say Sheley killed the four in their Rock Falls apartment on June 28, 2008. They were found two days later.

    A forensic pathologist who conducted the autopsies previously testified that it appears the four were killed with a hammer.

    Presiding Judge Jeffrey O’Connor said he expects trial testimony to last fewer than 10 days. Much of the trial — about 60 percent — will be DNA evidence, he said.

    Sheley already is serving two life sentences in the deaths of Russell Reed, 93, of rural Sterling, and Ronald Randall, 65, of Galesburg.

    Once the trial is completed in Illinois, Sheley will be brought to Jefferson County in Missouri to stand trial in the deaths of Jill and Tom Estes, both 54, of Sherwood, Ark. He could face the death penalty in that case.

    Boyd would not go into specifics about the security detail for the trial, but said “you always plan to have more (personnel) than what you need and then you’re kind of able to scale back.”

    Sheriff’s deputies also will be aided by officers from the Illinois Department of Corrections, who will transport Sheley each day from the Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet, and will remain in the courtroom during the trial.

    Boyd said this case is unique in that it is a “notorious allegation” where a defendant has already been tried and convicted twice and faces the death penalty in another trial out of state.

    The case also has attracted a lot of attention, both from the media and the general public.

    “Most of the felony trials you have here may have one or two of those variables, but not all of them,” he said.

    Because of the high-profile nature of the case, Boyd said the department has tried to anticipate what the coverage will be from the general public, media and from “concerned parties,” such as the families of the alleged victims.

    An overflow room has been set up on another floor to accommodate those who want to watch the proceedings via closed-circuit TV. Priority seating in the courtroom will be given to the families of the alleged victims, Boyd and O’Connor said.

    The 14th Judicial Circuit — comprised of Rock Island, Whiteside, Mercer and Henry counties — became the first in Illinois to allow video and still cameras in the courtroom under a pilot program launched by the state Supreme Court in 2012.

    Sheley’s first Whiteside County trial in 2012 became the first high-profile test in the state.

    Boyd said this will be the first big test of cameras during a trial in Rock Island County.

    O’Connor will allow one video camera and two still cameras in the courtroom during the trial. The media is banned from filming or photographing the jury or the testimony of some witnesses, such as undercover police officers.

    Deputies from Rock Island and Whiteside counties have met periodically over the past several months to prepare for the trial.

    “We wanted them to understand just how dangerous this man is,” said Whiteside County Sheriff Kelly Wilhelmi. “I think they get that completely.”

    Wilhelmi said the department loaned Rock Island County a stun belt that Sheley will wear around his thigh during the trial.

    He wore something similar during his Knox County trial in 2011. The device, worn discreetly under Sheley’s pants, is remotely controlled.

    To avoid prejudicing the jury, Sheley will be dressed in regular clothes and will not be shackled.

    During the first Whiteside County trial, the sheriff’s department had about six or seven deputies and several officers from the Illinois Department of Corrections to provide courtroom security.

    In April 2013, O'Connor approved a request from defense attorney Jeremy Karlin to move the trial out of Whiteside County.

    Karlin argued that the pretrial publicity surrounding the case would make it impossible to find a second jury in Whiteside.

    The last big change of venue case to Rock Island County from another jurisdiction was Alejandro Hernandez, who was convicted of the rape and murder of Jeanine Nicarico, 10, in DuPage County in Illinois in 1983.

    The state Supreme Court twice overturned Hernandez’s convictions and a judge ultimately dropped the charges against him in 1995.

    Boyd, a deputy at the time, said that case was challenging in that it attracted a lot of people and was held at the old county courthouse, which was not designed with the kind of security features that the Justice Center has.

    The retrial of Sarah Kolb, convicted in 2006 in the death of Adrianne Reynolds in East Moline, was transferred from Rock Island to Lee County in Illinois.

    During that case, Rock Island County sent its own deputies for security, Boyd said.

    Rock Island County will shoulder the costs of security for Sheley’s third trial. Boyd said his department could receive some funding from the 14th Judicial Circuit to help offset the costs.

    Boyd said he will have a better idea of cost to his department once the trial begins.

    Sheley’s first Whiteside County trial in 2012 cost $85,193.70 to cover attorney fees, prosecution, jury, and witness costs, and transcripts. That’s about $115,000 less than was originally budgeted, County Administrator Joel Horn said last year.

    Wilhelmi said his department spent roughly $5,000 for security and other costs.

    Horn said he did not yet have a cost estimate of the second trial.

    http://qctimes.com/news/local/crime-...2c18ec484.html

  4. #24
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    Slow going in Sheley jury selection

    Of 37 potential jurors questioned Tuesday and Monday in Rock Island County court, only four – three women and one man – have been accepted so far to serve during Nicholas Sheley's third murder trial.

    Thirty have been dismissed. Three more were asked to return today for further consideration.

    Forty more prospective jurors will be called in for questioning today.

    There must be 16 people selected – 12 as jurors and four as alternates. Prosecutors say they expect testimony to begin Monday morning.

    On Tuesday, Sheley's attorney, Jeremy Karlin of Galesburg, used all but two of his seven peremptory challenges to dismiss potential jurors without cause. The state has used only one.

    Judge Jeffrey O'Connor can approve an unlimited number of dismissals for cause.

    Sheley, 34, is charged with 15 counts of first-degree murder in the brutal Rock Falls deaths of Brock Branson, 29; his fiancée, Kilynna Blake, 20; her 2-year-old son, Dayan; and Kenneth Ulve, 25, on June 28, 2008.

    Though a murder weapon has never been recovered, autopsy results have indicated that the four were beaten repeatedly with a hammer.

    O'Connor granted Karlin's request to move the trial outside of Whiteside County because of the extensive media coverage of the case.

    Even with the move, most propective jurors questioned have said they have extensive knowledge of the killings. Of those, a majority have decided they would be unable to remain impartial, based on preconceived notions of Sheley's guilt.

    Sheley, of Sterling, is serving two life sentences for the murders of Ronald Randall, 65, of Galesburg, and Russell Reed, 93, of Sterling; and is charged in the deaths of Arkansas couple Jill and Tom Estes, both 54, who were killed in a hotel parking lot in Festus, Missouri.

    Prosecutors say Sheley went on a weeklong, drug- and alcohol-fueled killing spree during the summer of 2008.

    After this trial is completed, Sheley will head to court in Missouri, where he could be facing the death penalty.

    http://www.saukvalley.com/2014/05/13...ction/ab63kf2/
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  5. #25
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    12 jurors selected for Sheley trial; 4 alternates needed

    Twelve jurors have been selected to hear evidence in the third Illinois murder trial of Nicholas Sheley – eight women and four men.

    That's the jury. Now the court needs four alternates who can take a seat on the panel if a juror must be excused, which sometimes happens during a long trial.

    The group of four approved today, all women, includes a retired social worker, a custodian at Augustana College, a sales associate and new mom, and a teacher at Rock Island High School.

    Jury selection will continue Friday morning in an effort to choose the four alternates. During the selection of alternates, both the prosecution and defense will be granted an additional peremptory challenge for each alternate.

    This morning began with defense attorney Jeremy Karlin filing two motions. One asked for a mistrial and to move the trial to another county, and the other asked for more peremptory challenges to dismiss prospective jurors without arguing cause.

    Karlin started the day with only one peremptory charge remaining; he finished with none.

    His argument in the first motion was that the pool of jurors in Rock Island County had been prejudiced by publicity about the charges against Sheley.

    "In the last 6 years, every conceivable media outlet with the potential of influencing the potential jury pool in Rock Island County has created such a steady drum beat of public information such that it is impossible for jurors not to have heard information about this case," he wrote.

    He further argued that since so many of the prospective jurors had indicated that they had already formed opinions about Sheley's guilt, the move to Rock Island County from Whiteside County was a mistake.

    Karlin suggested a destination farther away: Rockford or Decatur, perhaps, he said.

    Judge Jeffrey O'Connor denied both motions.

    By the end of the day, attorneys had questioned almost 70 prospective jurors over the past 4 days.

    Sheley is charged with 15 counts of first-degree murder in the brutal deaths of Brock Branson, 29; his fiancée, Kilynna Blake, 20; her 2-year-old son, Dayan; and Kenneth Ulve, 25, on June 28, 2008. They were found 2 days later in a Rock Falls apartment.

    Though a murder weapon never was recovered, autopsy results have indicated that the four had been beaten with a hammer.

    In 2013, O'Connor granted a request by Karlin, to move the trial outside Whiteside County because of extensive media coverage of the case.

    Even with the move, most prospective jurors who have been questioned said they have extensive knowledge of the killings. Of those, a majority have said they would be unable to remain impartial, based on preconceived notions of Sheley's guilt.

    Sheley is serving two life sentences for the murders of Ronald Randall, 65, of Galesburg, and Russell Reed, 93, of Sterling; and also is charged in the deaths of Arkansas couple Jill and Tom Estes, both 54, who were killed in a hotel parking lot in Festus, Missouri.

    Prosecutors say Sheley went on a weeklong, drug- and alcohol-fueled killing spree during the summer of 2008.

    http://www.saukvalley.com/2014/05/15...eeded/apyh0lw/
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

  6. #26
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    DNA evidence focus of testimony in Sheley trial

    The trial of a man accused in the 2008 beating deaths of four people in northwestern Illinois focused mainly Wednesday on testimony about DNA evidence.

    Nicholas Sheley is on trial in the slayings of two men, a woman and a toddler who were beaten to death with a hammer in a Rock Falls apartment. Their slayings are among eight that authorities allege Sheley committed in Illinois and Missouri over seven days.

    Anne Kwiatkowski of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department crime lab was on the witness stand for about five hours testifying about DNA tests conducted on swabs taken from clothing and other items recovered by investigators, The Daily Gazette reported (http://bit.ly/1kMEWb7 ).

    Kwiatkowski testified that DNA found on clothing connected to Sheley matched the DNA profiles of three of the four apartment residents, as well as Sheley and his then-wife, Holly. DNA connected to Ronald Randall, a man Sheley was convicted of killing, was also found.

    Kwiatkowski said some of the DNA found also matched the profiles of Jill and Tom Estes, the Arkansas couple Sheley is accused of killing in Missouri.

    Objections by defense attorney Jeremy Karlin contributed to Kwiatkowski's long stay on the stand, the newspaper reported.

    "An extraordinary amount of time was wasted," Assistant Attorney General Bill Elward said at the close of the seventh day of Sheley's third murder trial.

    Sheley is serving life sentences for the slayings of Randall and Russell Reed, 93, of Sterling. He has pleaded not guilty to killing 29-year-old Brock Branson; 20-year-old Kilynna Blake; her son, 2-year-old Dayan; and 25-year-old Kenneth Ulve.

    He is awaiting trial in the deaths of the Arkansas couple and could face the death penalty, if convicted.

    http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/art...al-5511712.php
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

  7. #27
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    Doesn't Sheley still face charges in Missouri after this trial? My opinion is they should let him eventually wind up in the state with the most active DP
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Trial of man charged in 4 deaths goes to jury

    ROCK ISLAND, Ill. (AP) - Jurors have started deliberations in the case of a man charged with beating four people to death with a hammer in a northwest Illinois apartment in 2008.

    Nicholas Sheley has pleaded not guilty to killing 29-year-old Brock Branson; 20-year-old Kilynna Blake; her son, 2-year-old Dayan; and 25-year-old Kenneth Ulve in Rock Falls in June 2008.

    The Rock Island Argus (http://bit.ly/1hCgvce ) reports that jurors began deliberations just before 4 p.m. Thursday.

    The 34-year-old Sheley is serving life sentences for killing two other Illinois men and faces trial in two Missouri deaths.

    Earlier Thursday a prosecutor said Sheley had left his own DNA in the apartment.

    Sheley's ex-wife also testified the two had sex the day of the killings in a truck cab covered in blood.

    http://www.kctv5.com/story/25645590/trial-of-man-charged-in-4-deaths-goes-to-jury
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  9. #29
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    Man Convicted of Fatally Beating 4 With Hammer

    A man serving life sentences for two killings was convicted Thursday in the deaths of four others who were fatally beaten with a hammer in a northwest Illinois apartment.

    After a little over three hours of deliberations, jurors found Nicholas Sheley, 34, guilty of murder in the deaths of 29-year-old Brock Branson; 20-year-old Kilynna Blake; her son, 2-year-old Dayan; and 25-year-old Kenneth Ulve in Rock Falls in June 2008.

    The killings were part of a series of crimes authorities say Sheley committed in the summer of 2008, stretching from his hometown of Sterling, Illinois, south to St. Louis. Sheley already is serving life sentences for the deaths of two Illinois men that June. He is due to be tried next in Missouri for the deaths of an Arkansas couple.

    Police say the violence was fueled by alcohol and drugs. Prosecutors say he believed Branson was having an affair with his then-wife, Holly Sheley.

    Sheley rocked back and forth in his chair as Judge Jeffrey O'Connor read the verdicts. Family members of the victims sobbed, wiped away tears and exchanged hugs to the judge's words.

    "I hope you rot in hell, Nick Sheley," Jodi Fitzgerald, sister of Brock Branson, screamed as Sheley was led from the courtroom.

    The killings in Rock Falls shook the town of about 9,200 residents hard. Local officials have said that after the four were found dead in their apartment, many people in town were afraid to go outside for days.

    An autopsy showed all four were killed by multiple blows from a hammer.

    "Nicholas Sheley did this. Nicholas Sheley is the one responsible for these murders," Assistant Attorney General Steve Nate said during his final argument. "Nicholas Sheley killed Brock. He killed Ki. He killed Dayan. And he killed Kenny."

    The prosecution's case focused heavily on the Sheley's DNA, which experts said was found in the apartment. Prosecutors also showed images of Sheley taken from security cameras in the days following the killings in which he wore clothing belonging to one of the victims.

    Holly Sheley testified that on the night of the killings, the two of them had sex in a pickup truck whose cab was thick with blood. Holly Sheley did not give this information to police until her DNA was found in the truck much later. She was offered immunity for her testimony.

    Nicholas Sheley's attorney, Jeremy Karlin of Galesburg, did not call any witnesses. He has represented Sheley in all of his trials so far. As Sheley has done in the past, he tried unsuccessfully to represent himself in this trial.

    The Rock Falls slayings happened just a few days after a previous Sheley victim, 93-year-old Russell Reed, was discovered in the trunk of his car in Sterling, just across the Rock River about 110 miles west of Chicago.

    Police said Sheley killed Reed on June 23 as he searched for money to buy cocaine. Five days later, he allegedly killed 65-year-old Ronald Randall in Galesburg and stole his truck — the same vehicle his ex-wife referenced in her testimony. Sheley has been convicted in both of those deaths.

    Sentencing in the Rock Falls killings is set for Aug. 11. Illinois does not have the death penalty.

    He next faces trial in the deaths of Jill and Tom Estes, a Sherwood, Arkansas, couple who were traveling in Missouri, where prosecutors can pursue the death penalty.

    Sheley was arrested on July 1, 2008, outside a bar in Granite City, Illinois, just a few miles east of St. Louis.

    http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/s...blood-23914879
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

  10. #30
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    Sheley wants new trial

    Six-time convicted killer Nicholas T. Sheley wants a new trial.

    Galesburg attorney Jeremy Karlin filed a motion this week that cites 49 judicial errors, including moving the trial to Rock Island County where multiple media outlets have covered the case.

    On May 29, a jury deliberated for nearly four hours before it found the 34-year-old Sterling, Ill., man guilty in the deaths of Brock Branson, 29, his girlfriend Kilynna Blake, 20, her 2-year-old son Dayan and Kenneth Ulve, 25.

    Sheley, who was upset with Branson for having a relationship with his now-ex wife Holly Sheley, killed the four with blows from a hammer on June 28, 2008, in their Rock Falls, Ill., apartment.

    Their bodies were discovered two days later by Branson’s father, Dallas.

    Sheley faces life without parole when he is sentenced Aug. 11. The motion for a new trial also will be heard at that hearing.

    In his motion, Karlin said Judge Jeffrey O’Connor, chief judge of the 14th Judicial Circuit, erred when he:

    Determined that a fair trial could be held in Rock Island County after he granted a defense motion to move the trial out of Whiteside County in April 2013.

    Denied a motion for a mistrial on May 27 after Karlin noted that O’Connor had fallen asleep on multiple occasions during the trial and appeared to be confused by some of the evidence.

    Permitted forensic pathologist Dr. Mark Peters to testify as to his opinion of what type of weapon — namely a hammer — caused the injuries to the four. He also allowed Peters to give his opinion as to the amount of force used and the number of blows that caused the injuries.

    Permitted prosecutors to show Branson’s blood-stained red Dale Earnhardt Jr. shirt to the jury after a photograph already had been shown. The shirt was found June 30, 2008, inside a dumpster behind a gas station in Festus, Mo.

    Allowed Holly Sheley to testify regarding earlier phone calls between Branson and Sheley more than a year before the murders.

    Many of the issues cited in Karlin's motion are those that he argued in court during jury selection and the nearly two-week trial last month.

    Sheley already is serving life without parole in the beating deaths of Russell Reed, 93, of rural Sterling, and Ronald Randall, 65, of Galesburg.

    He will be tried next in the deaths of Arkansas couple Jill and Tom Estes, both 54, in Festus, Mo. Missouri has the death penalty.

    Prosecutors say Sheley killed all eight during a two-state, drug- and alcohol-fueled killing spree in late June 2008.

    http://qctimes.com/news/local/crime-...0492792b0.html
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

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