Judge finds Moline man guilty of fatally stabbing a man in 2020

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. (KWQC) - A Rock Island County judge found a Moline man guilty Friday of first-degree murder in the November 2020 death of 53-year-old Kerry Dyer.

The bench trial for Xavier Camper, 22, started Monday. He did not testify, and the defense rested its case Friday.

Criminal defendants are not required to testify in their own defense or present any evidence because the burden of proof is on prosecutors. A defendant’s decision not to testify cannot be held against him or her.

Sentencing is set for Nov. 17, three years after Dyer’s death.

According to the search warrant filed at the time, officers were notified by a witness, who called 911 to report Camper called him and told him Dyer was trying to kill him and that he killed someone.

Camper was with the witness at his apartment around 8 p.m., and Camper later left to go to Dyer’s apartment, the man told officers.

Around 9:30 p.m., the man received a Facebook video messenger call from Camper. He told police that he recognized Dyer, who was on his hands and knees on the floor, on the video call.

The man said Camper told him that he and Dyer were in a fight and that Camper “beat the f***” out of him.

The man said he could hear Dyer telling Camper to leave him alone. The video call disconnected, and almost immediately after, Camper called him again on a Facebook Messenger audio call.

The man said Camper told him he wanted his help to clean the apartment.

The call again disconnected, and Camper messaged the man through Facebook to come to the apartment because he said he needed his help.

The man said he used another phone to call 911 and allowed dispatchers to overhear the conversation with Camper.

The man then made plans to meet with Camper at John Deere Middle School.

An officer located Camper walking at 7th Street and 18th Avenue. The officer stopped to talk with him and saw Camper throw a blood-covered cloth to the ground.

The officer noticed Camper had blood on him and his clothing. When asked how he got the blood on him, Camper said he was in an altercation, and the blood was from a cut on his finger.

The officer detained him and seized two knives from Camper.

Officers went to Dyer’s apartment in the 400 block of 17th Avenue and found him dead. Officers noticed signs of a struggle in the area where his body was found.

At the police station, police seized Camper’s black boots and coat, both of which had blood on them. Officers also noticed he had dried blood on his hand, under his fingernails, and on his clothing.

Copyright 2023 KWQC. All rights reserved.