Man sought after 8 bodies found in 2 states
Pastor Dale Morgan
Man sought after 8 bodies found in 2 states*
* Story Highlights
* Bodies of four people found Monday in Rock Falls, Illinois
* Slayings may be related to earlier killings in Illinois and Missouri
* Nicholas T. Sheley, 28, sought as 'person of interest' in five deaths
CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- The deaths of four people found in a western
Illinois town may be related to as many as four other deaths in Illinois
and Missouri in the past week, police said.
On Monday, police found the bodies of two men, a woman and a child in
Rock Falls, a town in northwestern Illinois, about 100 miles west of
Chicago.
Authorities gave few details but said they had found the bodies after
being asked to check on the people.
Police said they believe one of the victims is connected to Russell
Reed, a 93-year-old man from nearby Sterling whose body was found
stuffed in a trunk last week. Authorities there say Reed died of blunt
force trauma.
Investigators said Tuesday that they were seeking a 28-year-old Sterling
man, Nicholas T. Sheley, as a "person of interest" in the five deaths,
and said he "should be considered armed and dangerous."
State Police Sgt. Thomas Burek said Sheley was an acquaintance of one of
the people found dead inside the apartment.
The Whiteside County State's Attorney's office said Sheley hasn't been
charged in connection with any of the deaths. There is a warrant for his
arrest in a June 14 home invasion.
Authorities also are examining possible connections between the cases
and recent homicides in Galesburg, a community about 60 miles southwest
of Rock Falls, and in Festus, Missouri, near St. Louis, Burek said.
Investigators were trying to determine if a body found Monday in
Galesburg is that of a 65-year-old man who was reported missing, police
Sgt. James Martinson said. The man's car was stolen and later found in
Missouri, Martinson said.
Meanwhile, officials in Festus say police are investigating the deaths
of a man and woman whose bodies were found Monday behind a gas station.
Police said the man and woman match a vague description of a missing
Arkansas couple who had checked into a Comfort Inn in Festus on Friday
and were last seen late Sunday. The couple's dogs were found in the
hotel parking lot, covered with blood.
Police in Festus declined to comment on their investigation Tuesday. But
officers in tactical gear searched an apartment building in
Collinsville, Illinois, Tuesday for a person of interest in the Festus
slayings, Collinsville police Sgt. Rich Wittenauer said.
Wittenauer could not say whether it was the same person of interest
being sought in the Illinois killings. Collinsville is about 40 miles
northeast of Festus