Killing spree suspect charged in 2 more slayings

Killing spree suspect charged in 2 more slayings


A man suspected of bludgeoning 8 people to death in a 1-week killing spree was charged Thursday in two more of those killings, a Missouri prosecutor said.

Nicholas Troy Sheley, 28, who already faces murder charges in 2 deaths in Illinois, was charged Thursday in 2 killings in Festus, Missouri, Jefferson County prosecutor Forrest Wegge said.

Sheley ambushed a couple as the two got out of their car in the St. Louis suburb, Wegge said.

All 8 of the victims, who included a child, died from blunt-force trauma to the head, officials said.

Altogether, Sheley is suspected in six killings in Illinois and two in Missouri; he has been charged in 4 of the cases so far. The suspect is being held in an Illinois jail on a $1 million bond.

A lead investigator in the case told CNN that the motive for the killings is not known. The investigator said Sheley was a methamphetamine addict with a history of arrests and fights with police.

The couple found dead in Festus were in the Missouri town for a graduation, authorities said, and were last seen at a Comfort Inn there. Sheley is not believed to have had a prior relationship with the couple, police said.

During the hunt for Sheley, the St. Louis County Police Department issued a bulletin describing him as "extremely dangerous."

"He has stated to his ex-wife that he has more killing to do," the bulletin said.

Sheley's capture ended an intensive manhunt, which included a $25,000 reward offer.

Authorities said he gave up without a fight July 1 when police confronted him as he smoked outside a bar in Granite City, Illinois.

According to an affidavit by FBI Special Agent Susan Hanson, Sheley invaded a home in Sterling, Illinois, on June 14. A woman inside the home told police the man was Sheley, the affidavit said.

Police conducting a welfare check June 29 at an apartment in Rock Falls, Illinois -- a mile from Sterling -- found 4 people dead, including the child. Sheley was a "known associate" of at least one of the Rock Falls victims, state police said.

The following day authorities found the body of Ronald Randall, 65, behind a grocery store in Galesburg, Illinois, about 80 miles south of Rock Falls, and obtained an arrest warrant naming Sheley. Sheley has been charged with 1st-degree murder in Randall's death. Randall's truck was recovered in Festus, Missouri.

Sheley also is charged with 1st-degree murder in the death of Russell Reed, 93, of Sterling, whose body was found in the trunk of his car on June 23, The Associated Press reported.

(source: CNN)