Testimony got underway in the Nicholas Sheley murder trial in Whiteside County Court Monday. Jurors heard opening statements from both the prosecutor and the defense attorney, as well as from seven witnesses.
Prosecutor Gary Spencer took the jury through events leading up to the disappearance and death of 93-year-old Russell Reed of Sterling. Sheley is accused of beating Reed to death and hiding the body in the trunk of Reed's car. It was the beginning of an alleged killing spree in June of 2008 that claimed four more victims in Whiteside County, a man in Knox County and a couple in Missouri. Sheley was arrested near St. Louis a short time later.
During his opening statement, Sheley's defense attorney, Jeremy Karlin, called the state's witnesses a "cast of characters" and told the jury that they are untrustworthy because many of them have their own criminal histories.
The first person the prosecutor called to the stand was Lyle Reed, one of Russell Reed's two sons. Lyle Reed told the court on the day of his father's murder, he saw the elder Reed earlier in the day, then, didn't hear from him for a couple of days. When he returned to his father's home a few days later, he said he found blood on the floor. He also said his father's hat and glasses were in the home and that his father would not have left without them. That's when he called police.
A newspaper carrier also testified that she noticed the newspapers piling up at Russell Reed's home. She told the court she saw some blood on the porch.
Two sheriff's deputies, a crime scene investigator, a doctors office receptionist and a newspaper carrier also testified for the state.
Karlin had few questions for the state's witnesses and Sheley took notes throughout the proceedings.
Earlier in the day, Karlin filed a motion asking for a change of venue and a mistrial. Sheley filed three motions of his own. The judge denied them all.
