Because their hired DNA expert was not expected to be available and prepared for an October trial, Nicholas Sheley’s defense team was granted a delayed date for his upcoming murder trial.
Sheley was sentenced in Knox County, Illinois on November 18, 2011 to life in prison after he was convicted of the murder of Ronald Randall.
Sheley was found guilty in Whiteside County Court nearly a year later for the murder of 93-year-old Russel Reed. He was sentenced January 15, 2013 to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Sheley now faces trial for 15 counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of four people from Rock Falls in 2008. The case was moved from Whiteside County to Rock Island County after the defense successfully argued Sheley might not be able to get a fair trial because of local media attention for the case.
Court records show at a July 17, 2013 hearing, Judge Jeffrey O’Connor granted a defense motion to delay Sheley’s trial from a previously-scheduled October 2013 date to January 21,2014. Jury selection was set for January 10.